Persona 3: Possessions
by DMGmana
Summary: A P3P version of the story where not everything is right with the female MC, Minako Arisato. A Minako who vaguely remembers losing her family during the Dark Hour instead of being unaffected by their deaths. What will change from how the game depicts her life?
1. Chapter 1

It had been ten years since she had last step foot into Tatsumi Port Istand. Ten long years since that fateful night that took her entire family away. The night sky and the moon turned green, the car her father was driving in suddenly stopped, and their parents were replaced by coffins that somehow fit in the car. Only her twin brother and her were moving. Being only seven-years-old at the time, they broke into tears as they begged for their parents to leave their coffins as they helplessly tried to pry the lids open. Her brother suddenly stopped crying and stared at something past her before hastily opening the car door and shoving her out. Two seconds later, the car exploded. She could not even begin to accept the reality in front of her before a death-curdling roar sounded behind her. She turned around to see what it was that made that sound but because of her tears, her vision was too blurry to accurately make out the floating creature in black a few meters in front of her with its back to her. The creature suddenly turned into transparent blue light with only its outline remaining. A person came rushing towards her with clear intent to do something to her. With the disaster still fresh on her mind, she believed that person was out to kill her too after 'killing' the floating creature. She remembered letting out a terrified scream before blacking out. The last thing she remembered was the only clear thing she noted about the person that tried to kill her: That person was a robot.

After being treated at a hospital and regaining consciousness, she broke down crying again as she retold how she remembered her family's death. None of the doctors believed her about the sky and moon turning green, nor about the black floating creature or her robot assailant. It was simply labeled a terrible accident that was reported on the news. The only thing she had left was being an orphan and a scarred childhood. She spent ten years being tossed around like a hot potato between relatives, both good and bad, before her latest relative sent her back to Tatsumi Port Island. She was old enough to start living on her own in school dorms as a second year high school transfer student studying at Gekkoukan High School.

A train malfunction was just the start of her troubles. By the time she arrived in and exited Iwatodai Station, it was midnight. She let out a sigh as the night sky and moon turned that same shade of sickly green and the puddles of water around her turned into blood. It was normal to her by now, having discovered the world's transformation five years ago when she was up past midnight doing a homework assignment. When she went to seek out her relatives for help, she found all of them in coffins. And when she tried making a call to the police, she found the house phone was dead and so was every cell phone in the house. So was everything electronic in the house. She would later question herself why she did not break down into a hysterical mess when she re-discovered the transformation of the world since her family died during that time. After some trial and error for a week, she learned that the world changed exactly at midnight everyday, regardless of the timezone. She never tried to find out when the change ended, only knowing that the world would be back to normal after some time. And as for water turning into blood? It was all aesthetic. Although it definitely looked like blood, water still tasted like water and cola still tasted like cola. After several days of hesitating to drink the cup of 'blood' that was previously water, she finally gathered her courage to take a sip, finding out it tasted like normal water, and then downing the entire cup. She got over the aesthetic change immediately after that experience.

Minako was supposed to report to Iwatodai Dormitory earlier in the night but the train malfunction really set her back and now she was making her way to the dorm when the world was changed. She pointedly ignored all the coffins, knowing the people inside them were safe and would return back to normal when the world turned back to normal. To her slight dismay, she arrived at her destination when the world was still changed. How was she supposed to inform the people managing the dorm that she had arrived? She did not want to wait outside for who knew how long until the world turned back so she tried to enter. It was unlocked, to her surprise. She briefly wondered if it was an electronic lock or the supervisor of the dorm was simply nice enough to leave it unlocked for her.

"Welcome," a young boy's voice said from the direction of the counter.

Minako was rudely snapped from her idle thoughts and her eyes widened in shock at seeing another person functioning normally when the world was changed. She had thought she was the only one capable of doing so.

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time," the boy in pajamas resembling a prison uniform continued as he held out a piece of paper to her. "If you want to proceed, then please sign here. It's a contract. There's no need to be scared. It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions."

Minako took it from him and carefully read through the contract. However, all there was on it was the saying...

"'I chooseth this fate of mine own free will?'" Minako repeated. English was already hard enough for a regular Japanese person, let alone a student, and this contract was written in archaic English? She could barely read the thing right! "Hey, are you sure this is the real thing? This doesn't look like anything a dormitory in Japan would ask its new residents to sign," she asked suspiciously.

"Did you not understand that?" the boy blinked in confusion. "It's just a fancy way of saying that you have to take responsibility for your own actions."

"Oh, if that's all, then..." Minako signed her name at the blank provided but kept a careful eye on the boy to make sure it was not some sort of joke that the dorm supervisor told him to pull on her.

"...Very well," the boy said as he took back the paper. "Time is something no-one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away. And so it begins..." Right in front of her eyes, he seemingly melded with the shadows of the wall behind him.

"...Who's there?" a new, female voice cried out. This time, Minako managed to keep her shock under control and looked towards the source of the voice. A girl wearing a pink cardigan was heading down the staircase from the second floor. "How can you be... But it's...! Don't tell me..." the girl kept cutting off her own sentences, looking shocked at seeing Minako.

Minako was about to explain herself that she was in similar shock seeing another person walking around while the world was changed when she saw the gun strapped to the other girl's leg. The holster was already opened and her hand had gripped its handle in order to pull it out. She let out a scream and dived behind the sofa chair for safety.

"Wait!" Yet another female voice snapped out a command. And almost at her word, Minako saw the world turn back to normal and the lights of the dorm started working again. Minako peeked her eyes over the top of the chair she was hiding behind and saw an older girl with long red hair beside the girl in pink. "I didn't think you'd arrive so late. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm," the red-haired girl introduced herself. She proceeded to explain to the other girl that Minako was a transfer student who was assigned here for the moment until she got a room in the normal dorms. She also introduced the other girl as Yukari Takeba who gave a reluctant greeting.

"Can I please have the nearest address for a cheap hostel?" Minako requested timidly. "I'd rather not live with people with access to guns." She saw Yukari flinch from her statement and stammered trying to give a reasonable explanation. Mitsuru came to her defense by claiming it was for self-defense purposes and was not a real gun. When she saw Minako unwilling to leave the safety of the chair, she demonstrated by taking the gun from Yukari and aiming the nozzle directly at her own hand. Minako watched closely, flinching at the sound of a real gunshot the fake gun emitted when she pressed the trigger. Just like Mitsuru said, it was a fake gun and her hand was not hurt in any way.

"You have to nothing to worry about from us. I apologize for Takeba frightening you," Mitsuru reassured her and Minako finally complied. She told her that her things had already arrived and she should tuck in for the night. Yukari showed her the way, and her assigned room was at the end of the third floor hall. Yukari tried to make small conversation but seeing the uneasy look on Minako's face, she cut herself off and asked if she had any questions. Minako asked about the boy and the contract she had to sign. Instead, she looked scared and asked back about what boy and contract she was talking about. Minako quickly dismissed her inquiry and bade her goodnight.

"Um... Can I ask you something? On the way here from the station, was everything okay?" Yukari asked before she could close the door.

"Yeah," Minako replied, having gotten used to the world changing every midnight. She grew suspicious when Yukari replied with 'Never mind'. Yukari quickly shut down any chance of her asking her anything by asking her to save them for another day and bidding her goodnight. Deciding to leave unpacking for when there was daylight, Minako flopped onto the bed and fell asleep immediately.

 *****Break Line*****

She was awakened the next morning by knocking on her door. It was Yukari, and she was told by Mitsuru to show her the way to school. Minako agreed to follow, knowing it would be rude as well as troublesome for everybody involved if she refused. She requested Yukari to wait five minutes for her to brush out her bed hair and tie it up in her usual high ponytail with additional silver barrettes that very clearly resembled the Roman numeral 22. They made small talk on the way, Yukari seemingly more comfortable around her than yesterday. They had to take the monorail to school and it was indeed a beautiful sight as the monorail made its way to Tatsumi Port Island, a man-made island where the school was located.

Her time with Yukari ended when they entered Gekkoukan High with suggestions for her to introduce herself to the homeroom teacher of her class in the faculty office. She also cautioned her not to tell anyone what happened the night before and left for her own business. Shrugging her shoulders, Minako took a look at the bulletin board and found out she was assigned to class 2-F. Her homeroom teacher was Ms. Toriumi who she greeted politely and cheerfully. She was pleased with her enthusiasm and instructed her to follow her to the auditorium for the school's welcoming ceremony for new students.

 *****Break Line*****

"What's up, dude?" the person sitting opposite her spoke, causing her to look up and look at her classmate, wondering if she was the one being addressed. "Haha, you look like a deer in headlights," the boy joked. So he was addressing her.

"Who are you?" she asked, unable to remember his name even though they had a class introduction earlier that day.

"Junpei Iori," the boy gave his name. He said he knew how tough it was being the new kid who transferred in, so he was just checking up on her to make her she was not freaking out. Minako was stunned, looking very much like said deer in headlights. This was the first time anyone had ever bothered extending a helping hand to her in all her years as the new kid in school. Up till now, all her classmates always kept her at arm's length and were hesitant to approach her. She missed out on the short conversation Junpei had with Yukari until the latter asked her if she thought it was a coincidence they were in the same homeroom. She agreed that it was, and Junpei reinserted himself back into the conversation, feeling left out already. He asked if the two girls knew each other since he heard they came to school together. The whole class, or at least the male population of the class, was buzzing about how two cuties came to school together.

"Ugh... Could you just cut it out? I hate dealing with rumors like that," Yukari groaned. She scolded him for involving Minako, a new student, in their school rumors when she just got here. She left citing some archery club activities and warned him not to try anything funny.

"What is she, your nanny...?" he mumbled to her, making her giggle at the exasperated look on his face. "Well, just to clear something up," he brightened up as he grinned at her. "I seriously didn't come over here to hit on you or anything. If you ever have a problem, you can tell your old pal Junpei about it!"

"Sure! Thanks," Minako replied happily, very glad that someone as friendly as Junpei was willing to lend a helping hand to her even on the first day.

"No problem! My door's always open, so to speak." As they left school, Junpei mentioned the school's clubs and she should join one if she was interested. When she asked if he was part of any club, he proudly declared that he was part of the go-home club. She stared at him in surprise before letting out a small laugh. "Hey, don't laugh!" he complained.

"It's the first time I've heard someone be proud they were part of that club," Minako replied with a smile. "I'm part of it too. Or was, at least."

"Oh yeah, you transferred a lot for a few years," he remembered her introduction to the class. "You probably didn't want to commit to any club with all that moving. Since you're here now, let me be the first to say welcome to the club!" he joked.

"Glad to be here," she said, glad that he was making her feel welcome. Just like he had said, he was more than happy to help the new kid out. It was to their pleasant surprise that the Iwatodai Dormitory was on his way home and they continued chatting until they reached the dorm where they split ways. When she entered, only Mitsuru was in the lounge. She welcomed her back and advised her to retire early since she looked pretty tired. Minako agreed with her statement since she had a lack of rest since she arrived in Iwatodai. She spent the rest of the evening and night of the day unpacking and then heading straight to sleep.

 *****Break Line*****

The second school day passed just as quickly as the first, with Junpei already being comfortable enough to lean over slightly and ask her what was the answer to the question he was asked during Composition period. He had apparently zoned out and missed whatever the teacher had said until he was put on the spot, so she gave him the correct answer. He was thankful for that and since she 'saved his bacon', he offered to show her around Paulownia Mall. Since she had nothing to do for the rest of the day, she agreed to his tour of the local area. Fortunately or unfortunately, their tour was cut short by Minako herself. She stood transfixed in front of a certain building called Game Panic.

"Uh... Minako-tan?" Junpei called her. "Something wrong?"

"Is that... an arcade?" she pointed her finger at it while looking at him. Her eyes were sparkling in excitement.

"Yep," he nodded. "Why? You interested in checking it out?" She nodded vigorously. Junpei cracked a wide grin at that. "I'd never thought I'd find a female gamer here. Now you're speaking my language!" They both rushed into the arcade with gusto. "So, what games are you interested in?" he asked as they explored the arcade and seeing what games they had to offer.

"Everything!" she exclaimed excitedly. "...Except the ones clearly meant for kids," she added sheepishly.

"Then you don't mind playing a boy's game, do you?" he challenged, making air quotes when he said 'boy's game'.

"What kind of boy's game?" she joked back.

"A fighting game, of course!"

"Bring it, big boy!" her red eyes shone with excitement and anticipation as they waited their turns. By the time they were done spending their allowance for the day, evening had fell and they made their way back home.

"Oh, she's back," she heard Yukari say the moment she entered the dorm. There was a man with her, dressed in quite the sophistical clothes.

"So, this is our new guest..." he gave Minako a once-over. "Good evening. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school," he introduced himself once she had seated herself. He came to the dorm to apologize about the confusion concerning her accommodations since she was supposed to move in to another dorm and not the school's private dorm instead. It would take a little bit longer for the proper assignments to be sorted out. "Is there anything you'd like to ask?" he asked.

"The relatives I was staying with prior to my moving here have already paid in full for my belongings to be transferred to the correct dorm, something you made a mistake in as you have admitted. They will not be entertained with this error and having to pay more for your mistake since I do not have enough savings of my own to pay for movers, not helped by the travel fees I am forced to spend on just to come and go from here. How will you compensate us?" Minako asked as politely as she could despite her irritation at the error.

"I will, of course. Once this mistake has been sorted out, I will recompense you by paying for your movers fully as well as reimbursing a small sum for the travel fees you are forced to spend coming to and from this dorm," he answered smoothly. She nodded in agreement and visibly settled down from her tense posture. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

She asked who else lived in the dorm, mostly to sate her curiosity about the boy in prison pajamas. Rather than getting any information about the boy, she found out a senior by the name of Akihiko Sanada also lived here. When she shook her head to show she had no more questions, he advised her to retire early for the night since the early bird caught the bookworm. A groan was heard from Yukari who told her she would get used to his lame jokes and puns eventually. Minako dismissed herself as she had more things to unpack if she wanted to catch enough sleep in time.

 *****Break Line*****

"...Master... Master Minako Arisato..." she heard an indistinguishable voice call her name while she was sleeping. She cracked her eyes opened blearily to see who it was that called her. When her brain finished processing that she was no longer in her room, her eyes snapped wide awake. Minako was sure she fell asleep on her bed, not seated in a chair facing an extremely long-nosed old man with elf-like ears sitting behind a round table. Swinging her head left and right in a panic, she found herself stuck with the old man inside a giant elevator decorated in blue everywhere that appeared to be going upwards endlessly.

"W-What the heck!" she exclaimed as she tried to scramble back, only to find herself stuck in her seat.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," the old man greeted her. "My name is Igor. ...I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

 _'Oh, it's velvet, not blue,'_ Minako's mind randomly registered that fact in the midst of her panic as she tried to pull herself off her seat. "No, that's not it!" she found her voice again. "Where is this!"

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter... Only those who have signed the Contract can enter this place..." Igor explained as he produced the slip of paper that Minako had signed a few days ago and placed it on the table. "Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return... That you abide by the Contract, and assume responsibility for the choices you make."

"I refuse!" Minako yelled, anger gradually replacing her panic as Igor spoke. "I signed that contract because that boy said it was just to state that I am held responsible for anything I do in the dorm. I _did not_ sign it for _your_ business! You sent that boy to trick me!" she accused hotly.

"You will understand in time," Igor replied cryptically. "I can tell you that the boy you are referring to is not a resident of this place. Hold on to this..." With a small snap of his fingers, a velvet key mysteriously appeared in her hand. He mentioned there was another resident who could not be present for her arrival but he would make sure they would be properly introduced at another time. "Until we meet again..."

Minako could not even put a word of refusal in before her vision whitened out. When it cleared, she found herself snapping into a sitting position, in her room once again. She was panting hard and sweating profusely. The key she was forcefully given was not in her hand. She took deep breaths to relax herself, mumbling under her breath that it was just a stupid dream. She had a poor mood as she made her way to school until she coincidentally met Junpei at the gates where they made small talk, cheering her up slightly. After school, she finished her tour of Paulownia Mall with Yukari before they headed back to the dorm where she immediately retired to her room for some studying and a long sleep.

 *****Break Line*****

For the second time in two nights, she was woken up by an outside source again. Her body had not completely fallen asleep yet, so she was still at full awareness when she was woken up. She noticed it was during the time the world was changed. Someone started banging on her door and Yukari yelled from outside for her to wake up. She then apologized and claimed she was coming in. Minako was surprised when she heard the jingle of keys before her door was unlocked. The moment Yukari opened the door, she was met with a highly offended look from Minako and flinched slightly from it.

" _What_ is so important that you had to use the master key of the dorm to invade my privacy when I was about to answer your knocking?" Minako demanded with folded arms.

"I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now!" Yukari quickly got over herself and handed over a long and thin implement. "Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door!"

It was easy for Minako to recognize she had been given a weapon in the form of a naginata. Her anger now replaced by worry, she ran down the stairs after Yukari. Yukari had some sort of receiver on her as she started replying to Mitsuru's voice. Mitsuru seemed to be fighting an enemy with Akihiko and that there was a second one after the two juniors.

"L-Let's pull back!" Yukari stammered after the dorm shook once from a heavy impact coming from outside, drawing her fake gun from its holster.

"What are you going to fight with? I thought you said that was a fake gun!" Minako exclaimed, stopping Yukari from running upstairs.

"It is, but-" Yukari was interrupted by a second shake of the dorm which seemed to come from above them, discouraging her from her initial plan to escape to the roof. "Oh no! This way!" she ran out the front door instead and Minako followed close behind, constantly sneaking peeks behind her to see just what was after them but saw nothing. They quickly came across Mitsuru and a silver-haired teenage boy confronting blobs of black goo-like substance with masks attached to them. They both had the same fake gun Yukari had and were pointing them towards their own head.

 **"Penthesilea/Polydeuces!"** both Mitsuru and the boy, most likely Akihiko, called out weird names as blue glass shattered on the opposite side of the head where the nozzle was pointed at, even as their head recoiled from an unseen force. Blue mist swirled around their feet before expanding and forming into...

Minako's eyes widened in terror as the humanoid/robotic entities appeared from the blue mist and attacked the blobs. Her pupils dilated as her mind's eye replayed the disaster that took her family's lives and the blurred-out robot that attacked her ten years ago.

"Hey! Hey, snap out of it! What's wrong?" Yukari shook her shoulders when the sound of her naginata dropping on the ground caught her attention. Minako's eyes were not focused as she seemed to stare at nothing. Her breathing became erratic all of a sudden and sweat broke out all over her face.

"Yukari! What's wrong with her?" Mitsuru came to them after taking care of the blobs. Before they could attend to Minako, a giant monster that was walking on multiple hands with no feet approached them from the top of the dorm. One of its hands was holding up a mask similar to the blobs of goo earlier.

"That's the one!" Akihiko exclaimed, an arm holding his ribs protectively. "Yukari, look out!" he warned when he saw it charging up an attack. A small explosion of fire detonated in front of Yukari, knocking her off her feet and her fake gun sliding to a stop in front of Minako who snapped out of her daze when she heard her scream in pain. She reached down and picked it up, guessing that the gun had the ability to summon some sort of robotic entity when shot at oneself in the head. Minako froze when she placed the nozzle to her temple.

 _'No! No! NO! I don't want a robot-looking thing! Never!'_ her mind yelled at her, the disaster from her childhood now at the forefront of her mind.

"Hurry! Shoot it!" Mitsuru urged as she dove out of the way of another explosion of fire.

If you believed in alternate universes, 99% of them would have her, or him in certain universes, summon a robotic entity named Orpheus who answered to her call who then momentarily morphed into a more deathly being named Thanatos to make quick work of that giant monster. Here, because of her seemingly intense fear of robots, she failed at her summoning despite the appearance of the blue mist that signified a successful summoning. Her head recoiled and the blue glass shattered, but nothing appeared to come to her aid. No Orpheus, and certainly nothing for Thanatos to momentarily take over and show himself. Her head only hung lifelessly from her suddenly still body as her arm dropped to her side and the gun dropped to the ground.

"She failed...!" Akihiko gritted his teeth in disappointment at the failure.

 **"Thou art I, and I am thou,"** Minako suddenly said with a presence of power, surprising the two seniors as she raised her head. **"My goodness, what an uncomfortable way to introduce oneself. Please rest peacefully, Anchin-sama. I will introduce myself to you once again when you have sufficiently recovered. Leave this rabble to me. Rest assured I will take the utmost care of your body,"** she seemed to talk to someone that neither of the seniors could see.

"Minako...?" Mitsuru cautiously called out, sensing that all was not right with Minako.

 **"Please move out of the way. Do not blame me if you are foolishly caught in the range of my attack,"** Minako brushed her off with a dismissive tone.

"What...?" Akihiko was surprised by the warning but obeyed nonetheless, moving away from Minako and giving her a fairly wide berth. Mitsuru did the same, supporting the injured teen. Both of them were surprised when blue lights appeared in her hand, forming the framework of a folding fan. The framework then made the sound of shattering glass with shards of blue glass falling off and disappearing, materializing the object. The folding fan had a black-and-gold front and the paper sheets were designed with flames as the background with a white snake slithering in the middle. Minako slowly and delicately fanned herself as she looked squarely at the giant monster who paused in its tracks, seemingly stunned at the sense of power that emanated from her being.

"She didn't fail her Persona summoning..." Mitsuru looked at Akihiko who nodded back, having come to the same conclusion she had arrived at. "Whatever her Persona is, it appears she's under its influence... Or under its control..."

"The power coming off her... That's something only a Persona has," he agreed, correcting his initial judgement. They watched with apprehension as well as amazement when Minako laid out her fan horizontally and a small ball of fire came to life on top of it. She took a small breath and blew, blue flames exiting from her mouth and turning the small orange fireball into a big blue fireball. She snapped her fan shut and pulled her arm back, leaving the fireball floating in front of her.

 **"I am not able to transform to use my absolute full power, but I can certainly enhance my regular flames to have the same destructive power. There is simply less of my full power to use, not that my flames are weaker,"** Minako explained to seemingly no-one again. She straightened her arm and pointed her fan straight at the giant monster. Apparently sensing its demise was near, it tried to flee. **"I will eliminate the huge liar as of now. _TENSHIN KASHOU ZANMAI!"_** The blue fireball expanded even further into the shape of a dragon as it flew towards the giant monster and encircling it several times. It was trapped within with no escape, its fate being to only be burnt alive. When it was dead, Minako snapped her fan shut with a flick of her wrist, extinguishing any flames that were still burning.

"Amazing..." a now conscious Yukari whispered in awe, having seen the attack.

"Yukari, are you alright? Let me heal you," Mitsuru summoned Penthesilea to gain access to its healing spell and proceeded to repair any damage done to the junior.

 **"You, the one in pink,"** Minako addressed Yukari, her fan resting on her chin.

"Y-Yes?" Yukari replied, weirded out by how she was being addressed from someone who knew her name.

"That's not Minako. We believe it's her Persona using her body," Mitsuru told her, adjusting her posture slightly in case she needed to fight back and protect Yukari.

 **"As much as it saddens me, I must leave Anchin-sama's care to you. I am sure the red-haired girl will have her hands full tending to the injured boy. I trust you will provide the proper care for her once I leave?"** Minako asked.

"Yes, of course!" Yukari immediately agreed, not wanting to upset a being of power such as a Persona.

 **"Very well."** The blue mist that preceded a Persona's summoning appeared around her feet and dispersed along with her folding fan. Minako suddenly collapsed to the ground unconscious like a puppet with its strings severed.

"Mitsuru-senpai, I think it's best we take her to the hospital," Yukari suggested.

"I agree. We don't know how much of a toll her first summoning has on Minako's body and mind," Mitsuru nodded. "Akihiko needs to see a doctor as well."

"Let's go now. I believe we'll make it there just before the Dark Hour ends," Akihiko told them.

"Very well. I'll inform the Chairman of our plans before we leave."

 *****End Of Chapter*****

 **Hello everyone and welcome to this Persona 3 fanfiction! P3 is actually my second Persona game, P4 being the first. Let's just say I am far more intrigued and excited by the darker tones of P3's story than P4's. Not saying P4 doesn't have its serious and solemn moments or that P3 doesn't have their silly and stupid moments, but I just can't take P4's Shadow annihilation locations seriously. Think about it. Which sounds more menacing and dangerous, the Tower of Demise or the TV World? I also liked the suicide aspect of summoning in P3 more than the simple card crushing of P4. The end goal in P3 is also more exciting than P4's end goal. Fighting to prevent humanity's demise is way more exciting than solving a murder mystery with a random discovery of what produced the fog at the end. I'm not counting P4: Golden because it added what I felt was the missing element in the original P4, explaining how severe the danger of the fog in Inaba actually is. I'm not dissing on P4, though. I liked their light-hearted and funny moments more than the ones in P3. I liked the gameplay better as well, but that's a given. If we're talking about additional content, I liked P4: Golden way more than P3: The Answer.**

 **Now, about this fanfic. We know the MC is orphaned because of the fight between Aigis and an incomplete Death on the Moonlight Bridge during the Dark Hour where Death gets sealed inside MC by a losing Aigis. Otherwise, why else would the MC be so near the site of battle during the Dark Hour if his family got caught in a random accident that just happened to occur near midnight? Not to mention, flashbacks during the game show that the MC was clearly able to move during the Dark Hour even as a child since MC was not transmogrified into a coffin. The MC also doesn't seem to remember or care about that disaster. In this fanfic, I made the female MC actually remember the accident that took the lives of her family which included the male MC, similarly to Ken. But how they cope with it is different. Minako had ten years to deal with the death of her family while Ken only had two. Ken lives with swearing vengeance to find the one responsible for killing his mother, but Minako lives with...? The hints are in the chapter.**

 **I tried to give more personality to Minako since the male MC was dull as all heck and while female MC had a brighter personality from her dialogue options, it wasn't enough for me. I'm trying to make her optimistic just like in the game but secretly hiding the emotional scars from the disaster and general negative emotions. I'm trying to showcase her negativity more often when situations reasonably call for them while avoiding turning her emo with no justifiable cause or making her all smiles and sunshine with the understanding of a saint. That means most Social Links will happen off-screen. Which also means Social Links will play a very small part in this fanfic.**

 **What about Personas?** **If you're reading these notes here, you already know that what I did with Minako's Persona. I removed Orpheus from the equation entirely and replaced it with something new.** **What about Thanatos? He didn't appear to maul the first Full Moon Shadow. I purposely did that. He'll make a proper appearance later, but not anytime soon.** **While Minako will have the Wild Card ability, her Personas won't be like the ones in the game, period. She won't have over a hundred either. At most, it's just a handful, at least one for each of her Social Links.**

 **So just who did I replace Orpheus with? Well, this character comes from a mobile game I've been enjoying for over a year now called Fate/Grand Order. Anybody who has played this game and knows the basic lore of the playable characters there will know just who exactly I replaced Orpheus with. Do you really think Orpheus has untold amounts of potential? Of course not. Orpheus Telos is the one with infinite potential. Or at least that's what I believe. So don't worry, the Servant I replaced Orpheus with is not going to go 'Telos' at all or have any type of form that resembles the power of Orpheus Telos. A 'Level Up' is a completely different story, though...**

 **Here's the list of the revealed Servants I am aligning with the Arcana. I have already decided on some and I will not budge on them. However, for those undecided ones, feel free to suggest some Servants as well as reasoning why they should be aligned with a certain Arcana and I will consider them. The Aeon Arcana is missing for a reason. The World Arcana is unusable in-game and only for the story, so it's not included.**

 **Fool: Unnamed (It's really obvious for players of the mobile game)**

 **Magician: ? (Already decided)**

 **Priestess: ? (Already decided)**

 **Empress: ?**

 **Emperor: ? (Already decided)**

 **Hierophant: ?**

 **Lovers: ?**

 **Chariot: ? (Already decided)**

 **Justice: ?**

 **Hermit: ?**

 **Fortune: ?**

 **Strength: ?**

 **Hanged Man: ?**

 **Death: ? (Already decided)**

 **Temperance: ?**

 **Devil: ?**

 **Tower: ?**

 **Star: ?**

 **Moon: ?**

 **Sun: ?**

 **Judgement: ?**

 **Please remember that Personas are based on myths and legends so the entire Emiya family is disqualified from being Personas. I apologize for any fans of the Emily family members. Mashu/Galahad and Ryougi Shiki are definitely out, so don't bother with them. Pseudo-Servants are also out, so no Waver, Ishtar and Jaguarman. No Alters or Lilies. Playable Servants only. Unreleased Servants do not count. Unintelligible Berserkers do not count. Servants with multiple classes count as only one Servant.**

 **I look forward to finding readers who enjoy this fanfic and the concept I'm going with this! Please Follow/Favorite/Review if you like it, and big thanks for those who do!**


	2. Chapter 2

When Minako regained consciousness, she found herself in the Velvet Room and stuck in her seat again.

"It's so nice to see you again," Igor welcomed her. "You became unconscious after awakening to your 'power'. That power is called a Persona. It is a manifestation of your psyche," he provided details for something she had no recollection of.

"Awaken what? A Persona? What are you talking about? I blacked out the second I pulled the trigger of the summoning gun. I didn't awaken anything," Minako told him, resigning to the fact she would not be able to budge from her seat.

"A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli. You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength."

"Listen, Mr. Igor. I can believe you when you say I have the ability to use Persona. Since I've seen my seniors summon those... _things_... that act as their Persona, what you said is possibly true," she said while visibly cringing at the emphasized word. "But even if I did summon anything, which I did not, I certainly did not channel it considering I blacked out and you brought me here against my will again. Something doesn't add up with what you've just told me." She did not believe him when he said she awakened to her power. What she remembered was a botched attempt at summoning a Persona since she immediately blacked out after pulling the trigger and hearing the gunshot.

"You most definitely summoned a Persona," Igor insisted. "However, it appears your mental state at the time of your awakening has affected that power in an unforeseen manner and has turned it into something that even I cannot begin to explain. I'm afraid I won't be able to lend much assistance as you learn about your unique ability," he informed with slight regret. "What I can tell you is your ability to wield Persona evolves as you develop your Social Links: Your emotional ties to others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that."

"Are you implying I take advantage of the people around me for my own benefit?" she frowned angrily at him.

"Most certainly not. Your Social Links can only develop through genuine bonds. You will find it most difficult to improve your Persona ability if you attempt to make ties with others if your goal is to solely strengthen them," he placated her.

"So I should let these Social Links grow naturally? At least I won't be falsifying any bonds with any friends I make," she grumbled but otherwise accepted his words.

"Now, then... Time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord," Igor told her. "Until then. Farewell..."

Just like before, Minako had no chance to put a word in before her vision whitened out again. She had wanted to retort that she would never want to come to the Velvet Room willingly. She had been deceived into a contract with it, after all.

 *****Break Line*****

Minako's vision eventually grew clearer and the first thing she saw after opening her surprisingly heavy eyelids was a white ceiling. She groaned audibly, her voice sounding hoarse. She was back in a hospital again.

"You're awake!" she heard a familiar voice coming from the bedside. She turned her head slowly and saw Yukari come into her vision.

"Yukari..." Minako groaned out.

"Um, how do you feel?" Yukari asked. Minako answered with a nod, still feeling the heavy fatigue in her body. "Thank goodness. You finally came to... I was so worried about you." She told her the doctor found nothing wrong with her. She was only suffering from a case of severe exhaustion that had her comatose for ten days. That was shocking news for Minako. Yukari then apologized for being unable to do anything that night before praising Minako's amazing power.

"What did I do?" Minako asked. "I don't remember anything I did that night..."

Yukari explained that she had used the power of Persona, except hers seemed to function very differently than how Mitsuru and Akihiko's Persona abilities worked. She unknowingly repeated what Igor had told Minako using her own words. She did learn that those monsters were known as Shadows, the enemy they had faced that night. When she had recovered enough to be discharged, they would explain everything to her.

"I, uh... I wanted to tell you that... I'm sort of like you," Yukari changed the subject.

"What do you mean?" Minako asked. Did she mean her Persona ability was like hers?

"My dad died in an accident when I was little... And my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms... You're all alone too, right? To be honest, I already know about your past..."

"How do you know about my past?" Minako hissed angrily. That was a very touchy subject for her that should never have been public knowledge to regular people. "Who told you that?"

"The Chairman did. But it didn't seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine," Yukari defended herself. She told her her father lost his life in a big explosion that took place in the area but nobody knew what really happened except that he was working in a lab run by the Kirijo Group. The reason she was still sticking around Mitsuru and Akihiko despite the clear danger they had been in that night was the hope she would find something out in regards to what happened to her father. She apologized again for her helplessness that night but it was her first time fighting the Shadows too.

"I was scared, too," Minako admitted, but it was not only because of the Shadows.

"Really...? But still..." Yukari seemed to slightly regret spilling this much information on Minako the minute she woke up but resolved herself to tell the truth as soon as she was able to. She thanked Minako for listening to her since she had wanted to share her story with someone she felt she could trust for a long time. She checked her watch and her time was up. She promised to let the others know she had regained consciousness by the time she was discharged.

 *****Break Line*****

Minako was back in school the very next day. She bumped into Junpei at the gates and he excitedly went up to her the moment he saw her. He appeared pumped up and seemed to want to tell her something. When she asked, he paused and remembered that he was not supposed to talk about it. She pouted at the tease but he only chuckled at her. Yukari arrived with a disgruntled look and approached them, chastising Junpei for being so loud she could hear him from some distance away. He did not let that dampen his mood and joked that even though the two girls lived in the same dorm, they arrived separately today supposedly because Yukari wanted to avoid rumors about them again. She retorted that she just left a little later than Minako and told him she had to talk privately with her, pulling her away from him.

Once they were away from listening ears, Yukari asked if she was well enough to attend school so quickly. Minako brushed off her concern, stating she had enough rest already. Yukari smiled in relief and informed her that the Chairman wanted the dorm residents to gather at the fourth floor of the dorm immediately after school ended for a meeting. It was the explanation she had promised Minako would get after her discharge from the hospital.

School could not end faster and Minako rushed straight back to the dorm. Despite her haste, she found herself the last resident to arrive at the room on the fourth floor. The Chairman greeted her amicably, glad that nothing serious had happened to her. The reason he held this meeting was to talk to her. Once she took a seat, he formally introduced Akihiko to her. They exchanged short greetings before Ikutsuki got to the topic of interest.

"Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?" Ikutsuki asked.

"No," Minako answered.

"I'm not surprised by your reaction," Mitsuru chuckled. "You've already experienced the truth firsthand. Do you remember the night you came here? You had to have noticed the signs."

"No electronics are working, the world turns green and people get trapped inside coffins, right?" she filled in the missing pieces for Mitsuru. "The whole world changes right after midnight. I know. But I have never known that time stayed still when this happens."

"You already know about the Dark Hour, Minako?" Yukari asked, just as surprised at the revelation as everyone else in the room.

"The Dark Hour? Is that what it's called when the world changes?" This was new information for Minako.

"This makes things faster if you already understand the Dark Hour," Ikutsuki was impressed by her knowledge. "When did you learn of this?"

"Ten years ago," she answered. "Please don't ask about it." Everybody agreed easily enough, respecting her request to not bring it up. If Yukari, a new-comer like her, already knew about her past, there was no doubt the seniors and the chairman did too.

"Don't you find the Dark Hour interesting?" Akihiko asked. "You saw those creatures. We call them Shadows. They only appear during the Dark Hour, and attack anyone not in a coffin. It's our job to defeat them. Sounds exciting, huh?"

"Akihiko! Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!" Mitsuru admonished his excitement in fighting the Shadows.

"Now, now. He does his work well," Ikutsuki stopped her angry tirade and turned his attention back to Minako. "Long story short... We're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. SEES, for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club adviser."

Mitsuru explained that Shadows feed on the mind of their prey, turning any human capable of functioning during the Dark Hour into living corpses. The Shadows were responsible for most, if not all, the incidents that happened on Tatsumi Port Island reported on the news. Minako asked how they were supposed to fight off the Shadows and Ikutsuki answered that among the already few people that could function during the Dark Hour were some that may even awaken to a power to enable them to fight the Shadows called Persona, a power she had displayed that night. Only Persona-users had the ability to defeat the Shadows, which meant only their group was capable of doing so. Mitsuru put a silver case that had been by her side on the table and opened it, revealing the fake gun inside. Now that Minako had a closer look, the group's initials were engraved on the side of the gun. It was called an Evoker, and they wanted her to join their group. Everything Yukari, and Igor by extension, had told her in the hospital was true except...

"I'm not sure I'm ready to join your group," Minako refused the invitation politely. "I don't know why you think I'm a Persona-user. I don't remember doing anything like what the seniors did." She did not miss the uneasy look Mitsuru and Akihiko gave one another. Did something happen when she supposedly summoned a Persona? "I mean, Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai could summon those..." Her heart started racing the second she remembered their Personas and sweat broke out on her forehead. "...constructs..." she forced herself to continue. "...and control them in some way. The last thing I remember from that night was me trying to imitate them and hopefully summon something to help. Since I blacked out the second I shot the Evoker, I must have failed at summoning a Persona." She did not believe a single word Igor had said when he told her she had definitely summoned a Persona that night. She thought he was bluffing because what he claimed had happened and what she remembered did not match. But now, after seeing the disbelieving looks on the three schoolmates, doubt began to creep into her mind. "...Didn't I?" she whispered, completely uncertain of what exactly happened on that night.

"You were being influenced by your Persona the moment you summoned it," Akihiko told her. "If the last thing you remembered was firing the Evoker before losing your consciousness, that means your Persona was in possession of your body."

"It was a fortunate thing it chose to destroy the giant Shadow and leave the rest of us in peace," Mitsuru added. "If it had gone berserk and went on a rampage..." Pain flashed across both the seniors' faces.

"We'll definitely help you control your Persona to avoid an incident like that from happening! Lend us your strength!" Akihiko declared with conviction and a fierce expression.

"...Alright,"Minako reluctantly agreed, feeling like she had no real choice in the matter. If she did not join them and Shadows attacked her, she would be near defenseless without an Evoker to summon her Persona. But if she did and her Persona refused to cooperate while in possession of her body, then innocent people as well as the other members of SEES could be potential casualties of its rampage. If she wanted to at least save her own life, she had to join them.

"I was afraid you'd say no..." Yukari sighed in relief and smiled at her. "Welcome aboard!"

"Thank you so much. I'm really glad," Ikutsuki shared the same sentiments. "Oh, I almost forgot," he took out a small envelope from inside his coat and passed it to Minako. "Here's a small compensation from me for your previous travel fees," he said. "Speaking of which, about your dorm assignment... Why don't you just stay here, in your current room? I don't know what the holdup is, but I guess it worked out in the end."

Time suddenly froze when Minako heard a voice from inside her head whisper to her that she had created a bond with the SEES group, empowering the Fool Arcana. A tarot card with the Fool Arcana as its image filled her vision before it vanished in a sparkle of light. Time then resumed with the others none the wiser about what happened. Minako quietly noted this pause in time and the whisper in her head was what Igor referred to as the Social Link. When she heard the dismissal from the chairman, she rushed off to bed.

 *****Break Line*****

Minako was getting really annoyed when she was disturbed for a third time, this time just as she was about to doze off while inside the Dark Hour. She had sensed someone's presence at her bedside. She snapped her eyelids opened and saw the boy in prison pajamas standing there.

"Hi, how are you?" the boy asked amicably.

"You! How did you get in here?" Minako snapped at him rudely, ignoring his greeting.

"I'm always with you..." he chuckled, taking her rudeness gracefully. "Soon, the end will come... I remembered, so I thought I should tell you."

"Uh... Thanks?" she did not know how to respond to his sudden generosity.

"I wasn't expecting you to thank me," he laughed softly. "But you're welcome. That... is what I'm supposed to say, right? I don't really know what this 'end' is about, either." He paused to stare at her for a few seconds before mentioning that she had awakened to her power. It was unusual as it could take many forms yet bound by none of them.

"Hold it right there!" she interrupted him. "Speaking of that power, why did you trick me into signing a contract with Igor?"

"Igor? I don't know anybody by that name. You are the only person I know," he replied, clearly confused.

"So Igor was right... This boy isn't involved with him," she muttered under her breath as she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Answer my question. Why did you trick me?"

"I... didn't know how to ask for your help any other way. I needed you to awaken your power to do so..." he answered guiltily as he looked at the floor. "I needed the contract so you would honor your commitment." He peeked up for a moment, seeing a surprised look on Minako's face. "I'll be watching you, even if you forget about me. Well then, see you later," he waved his hand a little and slicked back into the shadows of the wall and disappearing within them.

Minako stayed frozen in place for a few more seconds before she buried her face into her pillow, complaining with a muffled voice why nobody seemed to allow her to speak her piece before leaving or making her leave.

 *****Break Line*****

The next day in school, Mitsuru came to Minako's and Yukari's classroom, informing them of a SEES meeting later at the dorm. She took less than a minute before she left. Seeing the surprise on Minako's face, Yukari explained that Mitsuru was probably busy with student council duties unlike regular students like them. Junpei had overheard by accident and commented that Yukari seemed to hold some hostility for the senior. She retorted that she did not dislike her in particular but could not find the words to properly explain why. Frustrated, she forced Minako to walk home together. She vented her frustrations about Junpei to her along the way, going so far as to even refer to him as a poster boy for sexual harassment.

When they arrived, both seniors and the chairman were waiting for them. After a quick customary greeting, Akihiko revealed he had someone to introduce and looked out the door, telling said person to hurry up. A familiar face then appeared with a large travel bag behind him.

"What's up?" Junpei said with the biggest grin on his face.

"J-Junpei? Why are you here?" Yukari was shocked at his appearance at their dorm.

Akihiko explained that Junpei would be staying with them from now on. Apparently, he had found Junpei crying at a convenience story surrounded by coffins during one of his patrols during the Dark Hour a few days ago. Junpei added sheepishly that it was embarrassing to be found like that even though he did not really remember that event. Akihiko had told him it was normal for people who just awakened to the potential to be confused and having slight memory problems. When he asked if they knew that, Yukari nodded while Minako shook her head. He was surprised Minako was not informed about that since she was a Persona-user. Regardless, he was shocked to find out about SEES. He was glad he was not the only one to be able to function during the Dark Hour because it could get really lonely.

"So anyway, glad to join the team, Minako-tan," Junpei said.

"Let's do our best, Junpei-kun!" Minako welcomed him very happily. She was very relieved to have the one person she was most comfortable with being in their little group.

"You can count on me!"

"Well, enough with the introductions," Akihiko cut them off because Ikutsuki wanted their undivided attention. He started by saying that Mitsuru and Akihiko were their only Persona-users. With the addition of Junpei that number rose to five, making it safe for SEES to begin exploration in a place called Tartarus. Akihiko referred to it as a perfect place for them to train in because it was like the nest of Shadows. They would be venturing there at exactly midnight when the Dark Hour arrived. Mitsuru would go on ahead first as she needed to prepare some equipment at their location. Meanwhile, the rest of them would follow Akihiko's lead.

The three juniors followed him quietly as he led them to the monorail station, taking the second-to-last ride to Tatsumi Port Island. Minako and Junpei were similarly confused when their stop happened to be outside their school as well as why they were told to wear their school uniforms. Akihiko told them to wait until midnight struck and the Dark Hour arrived. Right before their eyes, the world turned... as well as the school turning into a grotesque-looking tower. He did explain that because the chairman had registered SEES as a school club, any battle damage they might receive to their uniforms could be easily explained away as club activities gone wrong. Every member of SEES had fresh uniforms freely given to them if it was too damaged to simply send to their private tailor to fix, free of charge as well. Anything else, such as Yukari's pink sweater, were not liable for compensation.

Mitsuru introduced their newly-transformed school as Tartarus: The labyrinth that only revealed itself during the Dark Hour. As for the school, she told them not to worry as everything would return to normal once the Dark Hour passed. Akihiko told them rather enthusiastically that there had to be a clue of some sort about the Dark Hour inside the tower. Mitsuru withdrew a key acquired from the chairman and unlocked the front gate. When they entered the tower, the interior was just as cool as the tower according to Junpei. Yukari noted the inside of the tower still had the same creepy atmosphere as the outside despite having proper color. There was a staircase in the middle of the entrance room which led to a door in the middle of a huge clock face design. The labyrinth laid beyond that. There was also a weird green mechanical device to the side of the room that seemed to be inactive at the moment. Akihiko suggested they enter and look around the place to get a feel for it. Yukari was shocked by the implication that the juniors would explore the labyrinth on their own. Mitsuru reassured them she would be in contact with them and feeding them information as needed from where they were currently at. They were also going to appoint a leader among the juniors for any necessary decisions. Junpei excitedly voted for himself as leader but Akihiko did not agree.

"Minako, you're in charge," Akihiko decided, looking squarely at the girl.

"What?" both Minako and Junpei exclaimed. "B-But she's a girl!" he added.

"Hey!" she shot him a mock glare to which he sheepishly apologized.

"Well, she _has_ fought them before..." Yukari supported Akihiko's decision.

"Seriously?" Junpei was surprised by that.

"That's true, but there's another reason," Akihiko said. "You two..." he looked at Yukari and Junpei. "Can you summon your Persona without any difficulties?" Both of them replied in the affirmative. Akihiko did not look convinced and warned them they were going up against Shadows. Without their Persona, they were screwed.

"No. No way," Minako shook her head, disagreeing with Akihiko's decision. "I can't even control my Persona, Akihiko-senpai. I don't think it really matters if I can summon it easily."

"She does bring up a good point," Mitsuru spoke up. "I would like to appoint her as field leader because of the strength of her Persona but I believe we should hold off on appointing a leader just yet."

"What do you suggest we do?" Akihiko asked.

"Akihiko, you will show them the ropes. However, since you are injured, I want you to leave all the fighting to them. Understood?"

"...Alright, I understand," he agreed though clearly displeased he would not be allowed to fight. "Everybody ready?" he asked, only to find Minako walking towards a corner of the empty floor and stood there staring at the wall. After a minute of her making no movements, Yukari and Junpei went to check on her. They shook her shoulders, snapping her out of her daze.

"Hey, are you alright?" Yukari asked when Minako finally responded by turning to look at her.

"Yeah, what's up? You look like a zombie," Junpei joked albeit a little uncomfortably.

"There was a door here and it hypnotized me into opening and entering it..." Minako grouched. Stupid Igor and him claiming that she would enter the Velvet Room of her own free will. She was hypnotized by the door! That was not free will! She blanked out the second she saw the door and the next thing she knew, she was stuck in the seat in the room and forced to listen to Igor's confusing speech again!

"Huh? What door...?" Yukari asked, looking around them.

"...Uh, I don't see any door," Junpei agreed with her. Yukari suggested that maybe Minako was still affected by her long sleep and was still a little out of it.

"Get your head in the game, dude! Don't worry, though! I got you covered whenever you need it!" Junpei offered his support.

"Thanks," Minako nodded in gratitude. Now that she was out of her daze, they climbed the staircase and entered the door to the labyrinth. The moment they took their first step into the labyrinth, they head Mitsuru's voice ringing in their head, establishing a connection with them. She explained that the inside of the labyrinth changed each night so outside guidance was imperative. She told them they were in an area where they could encounter Shadows at any minute so they should proceed with caution. Practice did make perfect, after all. After the mental connection was dropped, Yukari mumbled under her breath, wondering why Mitsuru was always 'like that'.

"Let's begin. Keep in mind, these are real battles you'll be engaging in," Akihiko told them. "I'll lead the way and you guys eliminate any Shadows we come across, got it?" All the juniors gave an affirmative and Akihiko lead the way. As they walked in relative but guarded silence, Junpei started to make small talk with Minako but was quickly told to keep his voice down when Akihiko spotted a Shadow. "Well? Go for it. Take that Shadow out," he stepped aside, showing them the Shadow which seemed unaware of their presence. It was a blob of black goo with a mask attached, same as the ones from the night the dorm was attacked. "Show me how you handle yourselves. Hey, Shadow! Over here!" Akihiko shouted, attracting the attention of the Shadow who rushed towards them with its claws.

Yukari quickly nocked an arrow onto her bow and fired but due to her panicked haste, she only grazed the Shadow who shrieked in rage and continued its charge. Minako jumped in front of Yukari to guard her and swung her naginata diagonally downwards, scoring a clean hit on it and pushing it back but not killing it.

"You're mine!" Junpei jumped towards it and slashed downwards with his large two-handed sword, breaking its mask and causing it to disintegrate into black smoke and disappear.

"That's amazing, Junpei-kun! You took that Shadow out in one hit!" Minako was awed and impressed at Junpei's strength. Akihiko was standing behind the trio as they made small cheer at their first success, so they did not see his frown. He could understand they were just beginners, but Junpei was the most unimpressive to him despite Minako's praise for him. He could respect the strength behind Junpei's attack but the way he attacked put him off tremendously.

"Good job, taking that Shadow out without the aid of your Persona," Akihiko gave them their due praise. "Let's keep going." As they explored, they spotted a staircase leading upstairs. Akihiko explained that it was the only way to proceed upwards but they would not be doing that today. Their goal was to explore the entirety of the first floor so the juniors could get live battle experience under the most controlled settings. They came across two Shadows that were the same as the one they defeated before.

"There's two of them. It won't be easy trying to defeat them without your Persona. You're welcome to try, but don't get cocky," Akihiko warned them before stepping back.

"This'll be a piece of cake!" Junpei rushed forward.

"Wait, Junpei! We should stick together!" Yukari shouted at him before giving chase with a nocked bow together with Minako. The Shadows were alerted by Yukari's shout and started waving their claws in the air. Just as Junpei jumped towards them, a small explosion of fire erupted in front of his face, throwing him back and crashing into the two girls who did not expect him to be send flying backwards. Minako was the first to recover her senses after Junpei sent all of them to the floor in a heap and saw the Shadows clawing their way towards them.

"Stay back!" she screamed as she pulled her Evoker from its holster. Running on sheer instinct, she immediately pointed it at the Shadows and pulled the trigger. The sound of a gunshot rang out and her hope rose, believing she had shot it down. It was immediately proven false when one of the Shadows managed to snag her leg before she could move. She screamed in pain as three large ugly claw marks made their mark on her leg, blood pouring from them.

"Minako!" both Yukari and Junpei cried out. "Why you!" Junpei scrambled to his feet and swung his sword like a bat, destroying the offending Shadow in a single hit. The remaining Shadow started waving its claws in the air again, trying to conjure another fire again. "No, you don't!" He pulled out his Evoker and placed the nozzle next to his temple. In his anger, he ignored the normal fear of having a gun pointed right at his head and fired. **"Hermes!"** he instinctively knew the name of his Persona as it appeared. With a mental command, Hermes dived towards the Shadow as if it were performing a dropkick. The Shadow was destroyed in an instant as its mask shattered under the force of the Persona's attack.

Minako ceased her screams the moment she saw Hermes appear. It was yet another robot-looking Persona. Her pupils dilated, her heart started racing and she was letting out panicked breaths. Her eyes stayed locked on it, paralyzed at the sight of it.

"Stay with me, Minako!" Yukari pleaded with Minako, mistaking her frozen state for a wrong reason. "What do I do? What do I do!" Yukari started panicking as she futilely tried to stop the bleeding with a handkerchief.

"What are you doing, Yukari? Summon your Persona!" Akihiko shouted at her sternly. "Find out if it has a healing spell!"

"Y-Yes!" She pulled out her Evoker and placed the nozzle right in the middle of her head. Her panic set in again as the fear of death overwhelmed her. She reminded herself that Minako needed her help and with newfound courage, pulled the trigger. **"Io!"** she called out the name of her Persona as it appeared. As she looked at it, a smile broke out on her face. **"Dia!"** she ordered Io to use its healing spell on Minako. A healing breeze swept over Minako, cleaning away her blood as well. The claw marks on her leg were gone and it was good as new without any sign of scars. The torn and bloody sock was a lost cause though so Minako had to bear with it until she could replace it when the Dark Hour ended.

"T-Thank you, Yukari..." Minako thanked her shakily as Yukari helped her up.

"I told you not to get cocky, didn't I?" Akihiko said from behind them. He had a huge frown on his face.

"We're sorry..." all the juniors bowed their heads in apology.

"Minako, what were you doing treating your Evoker like a real gun? Have you forgotten you're supposed to use it on yourself to summon your Persona? Yukari, you panic too easily. Stay focused, whether you're attacking or aiding the others. Junpei, you are being too reckless. I don't have to give an example if something happens because of that, do I? No matter how much power you've got, this isn't something you can do solo. Keep the others in mind."

The juniors gave another apology but Akihiko told them to make it up for it by not repeating their mistakes again on the next encounter with Shadows. He pointed towards a large open area where there was a group of four of the same Shadows lounging around. It was an ideal spot to fight in because there was more space to move around.

"You're outnumbered. What do you do?" Akihiko asked. "Show me your answer."

The juniors exchanged looks with one another, now more hesitant in their actions. They did not want to carelessly put each other's lives at risk after that wake-up call from the earlier fight.

"I think we should summon our Persona before we attack them," Yukari suggested. "Any other ideas?"

"Nope," Junpei shrugged, agreeing with her plan. "How about you, Minako?"

"I guess..." Minako said uncertainly. The juniors exchanged anxious looks for a small stretch of time, waiting for someone to summon their Persona first. It took Akihiko's snapping at them to hurry up that Junpei summoned his Persona first followed by Yukari. The two Personas floated in the air, awaiting commands from their summoner. Meanwhile, Junpei and Yukari looked at Minako expectantly. She was fiddling with her Evoker and biting her lower lip in nervousness. When she put the nozzle to her temple, Yukari and Akihiko tensed. Only Junpei was looking forward to what Persona she had.

 **"Per...so...na..."** Minako breathed out heavily, praying that her Persona, whatever it was, would be cooperative with the others. She squeezed her eyes and pulled the trigger. Her head recoiled from the summoning shot before she lost all grip on her Evoker and naginata and they clattered on the floor.

"Minako, talk to me. Is it still you?" Akihiko asked, his hand hovering above his Evoker in preparation.

"What's going on? Why is nothing appearing?" Junpei was confused.

"Hey, Minako...?" Yukari called to her, a little scared. Io responded to her emotions and hovered in front of her protectively.

 **"I am not too pleased with your choice of company, Anchin-sama. But if that is your wish, I will abide by it,"** Minako spoke in a completely different manner. She daintily bent down and picked up her Evoker, looking over it as if it was the first time she had laid eyes on it.

"You are..." Akihiko gasped before regaining his composure. "Is Minako there? Let her speak with us."

"What are you talking about, Akihiko-senpai? Isn't she right in front of us?" Junpei was seriously confused by what was happening in front of him. Why were Akihiko and Yukari looking apprehensively at Minako?

"That's not Minako, Junpei. That's her Persona... I think," Yukari told him uncertainly as Minako holstered her Evoker.

"Huh?" he was surprised before leaning in to Minako's face to take a closer look. He was almost hit in the face by a swipe from a shut folding fan that suddenly appeared in Minako's hand.

 **"You are invading my personal space,"** Minako said with complete disdain towards Junpei. **"Kindly step back or I will burn you."**

"Okay, okay! Sorry!" he hastily backpedaled away.

"I'll ask again. Let us speak with Minako," Akihiko requested in a hard voice. He had to roll out of the way of an incoming fireball before he got an answer from Minako. Pain coursed through his body as his injured ribs protested against his evasive maneuver.

 **"Do not think to make demands of me, boy. I answer only to Anchin-sama,"** Minako turned her disdain towards Akihiko, her hand holding the now-opened fan held towards him, clearing marking herself as his attacker.

"What are you doing, Minako? The enemy is the Shadows over there, not Akihiko-senpai!" Junpei exclaimed in shock at seeing her attack their senior. Minako turned back to look at him before her eyes widened in abrupt realization of her actions.

 **"Oh no! I attacked the very people Anchin-sama wished for me to cooperate with!"** she exclaimed in shock. **"How could I have done such a thing! Please forgive me, Anchin-sama!"** she held her shaking head in her hands.

"Who the heck is this Anchin-sama...? Just who are you talking about?" Junpei asked the panicking Minako exasperatedly. She stopped shaking her head and looked at him with pride replacing her panic.

 **"Anchin-sama is the great person you refer to as Minako Arisato. She is the reincarnation of him. And I, as her promised betrothed, has henceforth sworn my loyalty to her,"** Minako answered.

"WHAT!" the other three yelled in shock. They could not believe what Minako, or her Persona to be accurate, was claiming. Their combined yells was loud enough to attract the attention of the Shadows which started making their way towards them, screeching in anger at their presence.

 **"Be silent. Cease your incessant screeching this instant,"** Minako gracefully swiped her fan in the Shadows' direction, launching three fireballs. All of them struck their targets perfectly, knocking them back as their screeching turned from anger to pain. Hermes took out the remaining Shadow in one hit just like before and Minako conjured a blue fireball with the help of her flame breath and launched it towards the others who were still writhing. The fireball exploded in a huge blaze and the Shadows disintegrated from the attack. Minako fanned herself in a dismissive manner, seemingly watching the blue flames continue burning. In actuality, tarot cards had suddenly appeared in her mind's eye facing away from her and her focus was on scrutinizing them. The cards flipped over, almost as if it knew when it got her attention. On them were pictures of certain people, something she knew as Anchin-sama's potential Personas.

 _ **'Anchin-sama cannot handle the power of these Personas...'**_ Minako thought as her eyes narrowed at the cards. **_'As she is now, she is still unable to stay conscious after a summoning. That in itself is a problem, but if these Personas were to unleash their most powerful attacks, I fear the worst may happen to Anchin-sama. But their abilities will be necessary if a situation which I cannot handle arises... I pray my choice does not bring you harm, Anchin-sama.'_** She reached out mentally to her first choice among the cards. The other cards vanished, leaving only the one she picked left. It vanished into sparkles of light and a presence made itself known in Minako's psyche, identifying itself and was aligned with the Emperor Arcana.

Once the business with the mental cards was over, she returned her focus to the real world and snapped her fan shut, extinguishing any flames that remained. She watched her companions who were giving her cautious and guarded looks except for Junpei who was looking very lost. The three of them were suddenly distracted all at once by something. Minako figured it was the buzzing of static in her head which she fought off with hardly any effort.

"Mitsuru?" Akihiko called out to the air. "No, she's fine. Why do you ask?" He paused for a short while before showing surprise. "You couldn't contact her? It's probably because she summoned her Persona." His face turned solemn after a few seconds. "I'll talk about it later when we've returned to the dorm." He faced the three juniors and called an end to the exploration, telling them their last task was to find a device that looked similar to the one they saw at the ground floor. Akihiko made certain he was only giving out instructions to Yukari and Junpei while Minako simply followed along. Yukari told the others that Minako was walking in a manner like she was trained in the ways of a Yamato Nadeshiko, or the personification of the ideal woman in Japanese culture. When they found and activated the device, they were teleported back to the entrance of the labyrinth where Mitsuru greeted them. None of them missed how she had one hand discreetly placed near her Evoker as her eyes shifted to Minako.

 **"You are the head of this group, aren't you, young lady?"** Minako asked as she gracefully descended down the stairs, locking gazes with Mitsuru. The others followed behind her, feeling the sudden tenseness in the air.

"Yes, I am," Mitsuru replied with a curt nod. From the way Akihiko had reported to her earlier, something had occurred which involved Minako's Persona. When she tried to contact them, she was cut off from Minako the moment she connected with her. Akihiko hinted that her Persona was the one who received her call and cut it off.

 **"You and the silver-haired boy seem to know more than you're telling us. According to Anchin-sama's most recent memory, you claimed that this ground floor..."** Minako swept her arms apart, indicating the entire floor. **"...was the furthest you have explored. How is it that you even have the slightest inkling of what the labyrinth holds within?"** she asked.

"We have not proceeded up the staircase leading to an upper floor. As I have told the others, Akihiko and I have only explored the first floor. Your first exploration of Tartarus is something we have done several times before. That's why we know what to look out for, including the fact the floor plans of Tartarus change every night," Mitsuru explained clearly.

 **"...Very well. I shall believe your words,"** Minako conceded. **"But be warned: If I find out you've been lying to Anchin-sama, even by omission, I _will_ set you on fire and watch you burn until your life extinguishes."**

"I will not be threatened even by the likes of you, Persona," she did not back down from the threat. Her eyes hardened with resolve and in the span of a second she had drawn her Evoker and pointed it at her head, ready to summon Penthesilea. Minako made a dismissive huff, clearly unimpressed by her bravado.

"Hey, hey, Minako-tan! There's no need for in-fighting, right? I mean, Mitsuru-senpai's watching out for us, you know?" Junpei tried to diffuse the situation. Minako glanced at him before slowly closing her eyes.

 **"As uncouth as you are, Anchin-sama does seem to like you. Very well. I shall entrust her care to you tonight,"** she replied. The blue mist that everyone was familiar with appeared around her feet and dispersed with her fan, and Minako suddenly fell backwards onto Junpei in deep unconsciousness and making him fall on his butt.

"H-Hey!" he flushed as he awkwardly tried to keep his hands away from touching any inappropriate parts of her body. It did not help that her head was uncomfortably close to being in between his legs.

"You'd better keep your hands to yourself, Junpei!" Yukari warned him as she re-positioned Minako's body so Junpei could carry her in a piggy-back manner.

"I won't touch her like that, really!" he defended himself, raising his hands where everybody could see until Yukari was done adjusting Minako. He had an epiphany the moment he stood up with Minako latched to his back. "Don't tell me I have to carry Minako like this until we get back to the dorm! Wait, how are we going to get back to the dorm?"

"We have a specialized van that can work in the Dark Hour parked in the school," Akihiko chuckled at their surprised looks when he told them. "Relax, we'll make it back before one in the morning. You'll have sufficient rest to function properly the next day with a little fatigue."

"So, how was it?" Mitsuru asked with a relieved smile. Other than Minako's unique condition in regards to her Persona, everyone was safe and sound.

"No problem!" Junpei bragged with a confident grin. Mitsuru was pleased with his response, stating that their gained confidence was the best thing they could have achieved. "Wow... I didn't know I had that kind of power! But damn, I'm beat..." he let out a weary breath. "And I still have to carry Minako on my back..."

Yukari retorted that the way he fought was so hyper like a little kid playing with his new toy. When he pointed out she was breathing hard too, she did not deny it. She was still trying to catch her breath despite performing the least amount of strenuous actions. Mitsuru explained that the Dark Hour fatigued the body more easily but was confident they would adapt. She expressed surprise at how well the juniors did, performing much better than she had expected. She joked that they would catch up to Akihiko in no time who welcomed that challenge with a smile.

 *****Break Line*****

With the exception of Mitsuru who went back on her own with the equipment she brought, the rest of SEES boarded the special van which Akihiko drove. Yukari and Junpei were beginning to doze off when they were startled by a loud scream that came from the unconscious Minako. Her scream startled Akihiko badly enough that he had to slam on the brakes to make sure he did not swerve the van into anything.

"What... What am I... What did I..." Minako was in a huge panic as she swung her head back and forth to take in her surroundings.

"Minako, you're awake! Thank goodness. I thought you would go into another week-long sleep!" Yukari was clearly relieved at her awakening.

"Don't scare us like that, man. The moment your Persona went away, you were out cold!" Junpei gave her a small grin.

"I was out again...?" Minako hung her head, curling her fingers into fists and crumpling her skirt. "Was... Did I... hurt anybody...?"

"Well... Not really..." he answered. When she raised her head to look at him, his eyes refused to meet hers. When she turned to Yukari, she refused to look at her either.

"I attacked one of you, didn't I...?" she paled drastically.

"No, you didn't," Akihiko said from the driver seat and resumed driving. "And before you mention it, neither did your Persona." If he heeded her Persona's threat, he was not lying by omission either. Neither Yukari nor Junpei were attacked by it. He was not even sure if it was listening in on them or not. The only facts he knew about it were it was sentient and had its own personality, almost as if it was a different person entirely and not a part of Minako's psyche.

"I... see..." Minako sounded relieved even though she did not look anywhere near it.

Akihiko looked at her through the rear-view mirror, seeing the haunted look on her face. An image of a teenage boy overlapped her in his mind with the same look on his face after a certain incident in the past. He gripped the steering wheel harder, vowing he would not let what happened to that boy happen to her as well. He would find a way to help Minako get her Persona under her complete control despite how her Persona ability functioned completely differently than from the rest of SEES. One person spiraling down into the pits of despair was enough for him. He did not want to see that happening to her too, especially not when Minako looked like... _her._

 *****End Of Chapter*****

 **The tutorial is finally over! I can move on to the important events and fights now and put my own twist on them! So in this chapter, as per the game tutorial, Minako gains a mandatory second Persona to use. Just like the game forces you to pick either Pixie or Apsaras, I had Minako, or her Persona, really, pick between an unknown Persona and another one aligned with the Emperor Arcana. The identity of the Emperor Persona is revealed upon acquisition as per the game, but who it is revealed to is another thing. Put simply, Minako is completely unaware she has gained another Persona because she did not claim it herself.**

 **Interactions with the Velvet Room will be kept to a minimum because they are there mostly for the player's use and not so much for the story. If you only use whatever Persona you pick up as you play to completion, which is completely possible, how many times do you really need to enter the Velvet Room if you aren't doing Elizabeth's/Theodore's quests? The answer is none. You don't have to unless the story forces you to enter for the sake of progression. Not to mention, Minako in this fanfic has a low opinion of the Velvet Room in general. She won't want to enter voluntarily if she can help it.**

 **Here's the updated list of Personas that Minako currently has.**

 **Fool: Unnamed**

 **Magician: ? (Already decided)**

 **Priestess: ? (Already decided)**

 **Empress: ?**

 **Emperor: Unnamed**

 **Hierophant: ?**

 **Lovers: ?**

 **Chariot: ? (Already decided)**

 **Justice: ?**

 **Hermit: ?**

 **Fortune: ?**

 **Strength: ?**

 **Hanged Man: ?**

 **Death: ? (Already decided)**

 **Temperance: ?**

 **Devil: ?**

 **Tower: ?**

 **Star: ?**

 **Moon: ?**

 **Sun: ?**

 **Judgement: ?**

 **Just like the previous chapter, feel free to suggest ideas on which Servant should be aligned with the Arcanas I haven't decided on yet and give reasoning.**

 ** **I look forward to getting more readers who like this story! Do Follow/Favorite/Review this story, and big thanks to those who are kind enough to do so!****


	3. Chapter 3

Akihiko purposely stayed out of Minako's sight as he trailed her as discreetly as he could the moment she left the dorm for school. He pretended to notice her when they got off the station, making small talk in order to gauge how she was faring. He asked if she was feeling confused about the area, having recently transferred not too long ago. She said she was before falling silent. It was a bit of a relief to see she was fine even if she had been looking down since the day started. To keep her mind off her troubles, he informed her that since he was unable to participate in exploration, the juniors would have to decide among themselves who would be the field leader. He told her to pass the message to Yukari and Junpei before parting ways.

 *****Break Line*****

At morning assembly, Mitsuru had been elected as the new student president of the student council. Yukari commented that it was expected since Mitsuru was the most popular girl in school. Junpei mentioned that he felt she had some kind of aura around her. Once Mitsuru took the podium, she gave a speech that radiated charisma, earning her a huge round of applause from students and teachers alike.

"Hey, did you understand what she was talking about?" Junpei asked Minako when the speech was over.

"A little. I wish she would've use easier words," Minako replied while shaking her head.

"I didn't get anything. Sure didn't sound like anything a high schooler would say. If it was anyone else, we'd be laughing our asses off." His commentary brought out the first smile of the day for Minako. With her mood lifted, school did not seem so tiring anymore like she first thought when she left the dorm because of their trip to Tartarus the previous day. Since Yukari had club activities after school, Minako and Junpei came across a commotion at the front gate of the school. They spotted a group of girls screaming and crowding around Akihiko.

"Man, would you look at that? I hear they're always swarming Akihiko-senpai like that," Junpei told Minako. "I know he's the captain of the boxing team, but... I mean, come on! You don't even see girls flock like that on TV!"

"I'm suddenly getting worried about being seen talking to Akihiko-senpai in school now..." Minako shivered from the sudden chill that ran up her spine.

"You worry too much! I'm sure he'll protect you if anybody bothers you while he's around. Oh, he's heading towards us."

"Hey, are you guys free this afternoon?" Akihiko asked when he came up to them.

"I... guess so...?" Junpei answered uncertainly for both of them. They had been planning to drop by the arcade later.

"I want the two of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall. You know where it is, right?" he looked at Minako who nodded at his question. "I'll be at the police station. See you there."

"Th-The police station?" Junpei exclaimed.

"I didn't do anything!" Minako immediately pleaded innocence and was slowly shifting behind Junpei.

"You're not going to be arrested. It's for club business," Akihiko clarified.

"Oh," both Junpei and Minako echoed.

"I'm heading out first. ...Don't keep me waiting." As Akihiko left the school, the group of girls were squealing at obnoxiously high pitches about how cool he looked and how they wished he was more friendly towards them.

"I bet Akihiko-senpei doesn't know even one of their names," Minako said.

"How can he not know their names? I mean, seriously! Just look at them!" Junpei replied. They stared at the girls who began squealing among themselves about how Akihiko was this and that. "Well, I guess we gotta go... Sheesh, talk about putting a damper on a guy's afternoon."

"Make that double for me," she agreed.

When they arrived at the police station, Akihiko was there talking to the police officer at the counter who he introduced as Kurosawa. He handed each of them an envelope of money from Ikutsuki. It was for them to pick out and buy their favored weapon. Imagine their surprise to learn the police officer actually had connections to obtain illegal things to sell to SEES. He claimed he was just an ordinary officer but it did not take a genius to know something strange was going on in Tatsumi Port Island, namely the Apathy Syndrome. He claimed he was only doing what he thought was right since while he did not know the specifics of what SEES did, he knew they were helping keep the peace, hence his cooperation to supply them equipment. He did warn them if there was any sort of crime scene that appeared to be caused by what he sold them...

By how quickly the both of them bolted from the police station without even looking at his wares, they clearly got the message. Akihiko chuckled before promising Kurosawa he would get them to look at the weapons at another time. The police officer grumbled in acceptance before telling Akihiko that their little group better be regular 'customers' since he was playing the middleman and had to buy the weapons from his connections first before being able to sell to them. Akihiko nodded and updated him on what sort of weapons their group needed. Other than modified knuckle dusters and rapiers, the weapon selection would soon include naginatas, two-handed swords, bows and arrows.

 *****Break Line*****

Their troubles were far from over since the moment they got back to the dorm, Mitsuru was already there and waiting. She asked if the juniors had decided on a field leader yet, and Minako answered no. They had not discussed about it yet. When Yukari returned from club activities later in the afternoon, the three of them sat down to discuss about who should be leader. Naturally, Junpei voted for himself. Yukari immediately shot him down since she had a feeling all he would do was charge straight ahead without thinking. She accused him of just wanting the position of field leader but not the responsibilities that came with it. Junpei had no explanation to convince her otherwise, so that left either Minako and Yukari herself. When Yukari suggested Minako be leader, Minako refused despite Junpei being okay with it although he looked sour when he said that. Her reason was the same as when Akihiko voted for her during their first exploration. Without proper control of her Persona, she was the most unreliable member when it came to fighting. It was either fight without using her Persona at all, or use it and have no control over what her Persona would do and jeopardizing the team. The only option left was Yukari who shifted uncomfortably when the other two looked at her expectantly for some sort of response. Junpei shrugged in a non-committal manner when she asked if they would accept her as leader. Minako was fine with either Yukari or Junpei as leader. Feeling a pressure that suddenly hit her, Yukari backed out from accepting the position and instead suggested that each of them had one go at being the field leader and after that, they would finally decide. Minako and Junpei exchanged glances before agreeing with Yukari. The three of them then informed Mitsuru of their plans. She accepted their course of action but advised them to reach a solid agreement before they lost control of any future situations.

 *****Break Line*****

Yukari's plan of having all the juniors be field leader once was not going as well as they hoped. Yukari had the first shot at having the position and by the end of that exploration Junpei was almost stomping off in complete frustration. She was so quick to criticize him when he did not do exactly as she had told him or when he did do so, he did not perform to her satisfaction. She even did so during combat, shouting at him and trying to direct his every move. At the end, he was frustrated by her attitude of 'her way or no way' according to him. Even Minako was not unscathed by it. Yukari had ordered her numerous times to summon her Persona when it was already established beforehand she would not do so as long as she could keep up with the Shadows without its aid. It could even be said that Minako was the start of the breakdown of this particular formation. She refused repeatedly, even snapping back at Yukari to lay off the demands of wanting her to summon her Persona. That resulted in silent treatment from Yukari for the rest of the night while she vented her anger on Junpei until he could not stand it any longer.

It was Junpei's turn to be field leader a week later to let all three of them cool off their tempers and potential grudges. It was too bad that it just got renewed again on Junpei's turn. Minako had no problems playing second fiddle to Junpei's reckless approach when it came to Shadows since they were both close-range fighters. While he was more willing to listen to his teammates' suggestions and compromise with them than Yukari did, she ended up having a major beef with him. She had already expected him to act like a hot-heated child and stupidly charge at Shadows head-on, so that was not a problem for her to adjust to. What the huge problem was because she felt he ignored the team's well-being. She had no place in Junpei's plan of attack, being relegated to do nothing except being a lookout and summoning Io to heal them. She felt it was demeaning to her. Junpei did say to watch their backs while they fought but it was pointless when Minako was already doing so while fighting with him. Even when they encountered airborne Shadows, Junpei would summon Hermes to use Agi, sometimes wastefully, rather than tell her to shoot their targets down. He did not seem to care that Minako was getting more tired trying to keep up with him, instead just shouting out encouragements that she had more fight left in her. At the end of their exploration, Junpei's clothes had scratches all over but most were just grazes. Minako, on the other hand, had her clothes torn all over from being too tired to continue fighting effectively and suffering numerous non-lethal hits. It was a miracle her uniform was still in one piece. Another small tear here or there would have started exposing her undergarments. To Junpei's credit, he did notice her growing fatigue and did his best to cover for her without once ordering her to summon her Persona. However, he still had her fight in the front lines with him and still did not call on Yukari to take her place. When they were back at the safety of the entrance, Yukari confronted Junpei over his lousy formation which he claimed was strategy on his part. He asked her what problem she had with the role he had given her while Minako had no complaints about her role despite being pushed so much harder than Yukari was. He then gave an apology to Minako who just waved it off, too tired to even talk as she laid spread eagle on the floor. It was clear to them she had no problems with his so-called strategy.

The kicker came when she demanded to know why he felt that the formation he used was a good idea. He shrugged and replied that it worked in video games. He added that he was looking out for both Yukari and Minako and did not treat their fights with the Shadows exactly like video games. Yukari blew her top off at his admission, yelling at him that she would never accept him as leader ever again and if anybody tried to force her, she would simply not participate in their exploration as long as he was leading the team. She was extremely livid at the fact he treated the team like characters in a video game. They were not fictional characters that had a save point they could return to if anything happened to any of them! They only had one life each and he was treating them so carelessly! She turned her glare towards Minako and tried to get her to side with her against Junpei. Minako managed to regain some of her breath and answered that while she was angry that Junpei had viewed them like characters in a video game, she would give him the benefit of the doubt because he took each and every fight seriously. Even though the strategy he used was plucked from a game, it still worked. As long as he did not forget about reality when it came to their safety, she was fine with his game-inspired strategies. Yukari was in complete disbelief that Minako was still fine and accepting of the nonsense Junpei pulled after his admission. With her mind in such a mess, Yukari's anger vanished into thin air and left her with a painful headache. She could only muster out a 'whatever' to them and left with the statement that she would never follow Junpei's lead again. When it was Minako's turn and if she pulled the same thing he did, she would not follow her either. That was a promise, and they had better remember it.

A few days later, it was Minako's turn. Before even stepping into the labyrinth of Tartarus, Yukari and Junpei could see she was completely uncomfortable with being the field leader. It showed in her strategy of trying to avoid every Shadow possible with Mitsuru's aid, even if that meant backtracking and taking the long way around. When they had no choice but to confront Shadows, she normally had Yukari take a potshot first before Minako and Junpei rushed in together. If Mitsuru warned her of their presence around a corner, she would have Junpei pounce on them for a surprise first attack and they tried to end the fight before any remaining Shadows could recover. If they spotted a Shadow from behind with no way around it, Minako would sneakily run up and thrust her naginata into the back of her target's head before having the other two back her up. After a few such ambushes, Junpei joked that Minako had talent for fighting dirty. An embarrassed Minako slapped his arm none too gently as she vehemently denied having such a talent and that she was just taking the safest method. She could fight on the front lines too, just not as well as he did. At the end of the exploration, neither Yukari nor Junpei had any big problems with Minako being the leader except that she made them do the heavy work. She tried to contribute as well but without summoning her Persona, she very clearly contributed the least. Just knowing that made her tell them that she did not want to be the field leader again if that was all she could do.

And so the juniors were back at square one again. An argument broke out between Yukari and Junpei again since they both refused to follow the other's lead. Minako suggested that during combat situations only, she would lead. Yukari's main problem with Junpei laid there, so she agreed with her, redacting her promise of not following Junpei's lead again. Junpei agreed as well since Yukari would not be yelling at him so much anymore if that was the case. Both were still troubled by their own experiences as field leader and were no longer eager to be holding that position again. They added the condition that Minako had to be field leader sometimes as well and Minako reluctantly agreed to it since if she was only leading the fights, she would be the one contributing the least for every exploration. Yukari suggested they take turns being field leader but Junpei disagreed, saying that since all of them were uncomfortable with it, it would put pressure on the person who was next and that may affect their performance. He suggested playing janken **(AN: Rock, Paper, Scissors)** before each exploration to prevent said pressure, even if it meant one of them had to be the field leader more than once in a row. Yukari argued against it, saying that it prevented any sort of proper preparation from the person who would be the field leader on any given exploration. Minako did not have a problem with either of their suggestions and they had to settle it between themselves. Junpei wanted to get the discussion over and done with already and gave an ultimatum to settle it with a single round of janken. Whoever won would have their idea carried out. Yukari agreed to it, just as tired as he was. Her bad mood got worse when Junpei won but she did not lash out when he did not look the least bit happy about it. He muttered out a sarcastic and tired cheer and immediately excused himself to his room. Seeing him wanting it to be over just as badly as she did was enough to stop herself from criticizing him.

As days passed, the juniors found methods to improve on Junpei's idea, the simplest one being to decide earlier in the evening who would get the role of leader with janken if they decided to explore Tartarus so the 'winner' had time to prepare. With Minako in the role of combat leader, the friction between Yukari and Junpei was greatly reduced. They did squabble over minor disagreements but generally did not fight against each other's orders and both of them had their confidence as field leader restored again.

 *****Break Line*****

Minako decided to join a school club for once much to Junpei's disappointment since he was left alone in the go-home club. He cheered up when she claimed she would only be attending once a week when the club met three times a week, leaving the other five school days to hang out with him if he wanted to. She did not mention it to Junpei but the warm reception from the junior's leader, Rio Iwasaki, and her dedication to the club impressed Minako that it formed the Social Link empowering the Chariot Arcana. To celebrate, he invited her out for lunch. As they enjoyed their food, he mentioned that SEES starting the exploration of Tartarus when she had just awoken from her ten-day coma had him feeling worried. Minako was touched by his concern and that triggered the formation of the Social Link empowering the Magician Arcana. He immediately spoiled the mood she was feeling by joking about guys and girls living in the same dorm and implying certain things might happen. When she asked what he meant, he mentioned that he would not drag love into their work. Then again, he could not guarantee that he would not fall for one of them. Minako joked back that the same might happen for the girls too. There was no guarantee one of them would not fall for him or Akihiko. Junpei could only sputter in embarrassment, causing her to laugh. He quickly got over himself and joined in the laughter.

 *****Break Line*****

Both Yukari and Junpei were keeping a wide berth from Minako who was fuming on her desk after an argument nearly broke out between her and Mitsuru of all people in their own classroom after school was over. It was actually one-sided since Mitsuru kept her cool against Minako's rising anger. It started peacefully at first, with Mitsuru coming in and requesting Minako to join the student council. When Minako asked if this was the special request Mitsuru wanted earlier in the day, she nodded. Mitsuru reassured that she would not burden her with every activity and that she could attend whenever she had time. She just wanted her presence in the council. Being the president was time-consuming and she liked to have additional help in case of emergencies. Minako replied that she would have to take a look at the schedules first before she agreed. Mitsuru advised her not to take too long since she had made an appointment in advance with the faculty adviser. That was where communications broke down. Minako went from calm to angry in an instant. She angrily told Mitsuru she was forcing her to say yes and she had no right to do that. If she wanted help, she could just ask instead of forcing someone to help by removing their choices. This was like the boy in prison pajamas, Igor and the Velvet Room all over again and Minako would not stand for it. Before Mitsuru could respond, she told her that she was not going to help with the student council if this was how the president operated. Mitsuru apologized for making such preparations without her permission but she hoped Minako would understand the position she was in. Minako's answer was still no. Mitsuru stared for a moment before turning around sharply and apologized for wasting her time. The whole classroom was completely silent after that.

"You remember the time when I tried to explain something about Mitsuru-senpai and couldn't find the correct words? Well, this is kind of what I mean," Yukari was the first to break the silence.

"I'm certainly not liking Mitsuru-senpai right now," Minako muttered. "I'll get over this eventually."

"I don't wanna say anything that might upset you further..." Junpei hesitated for a second. "But it kinda seemed like Mitsuru-senpai expected you to say yes and prepared things early. It didn't look like she considered how you might feel about it."

"Yeah, that's it! That's the feeling!" Yukari was surprised Junpei of all people managed to properly put her feelings to words. "Mitsuru-senpai's confidence is the kind that inspires people, so it's not that. But the way she just expects everything to go her way no matter what other people feel is the problem."

"Ugh... How am I supposed to make all this anger go away...?" Minako groaned, her anger slowly turning into misery.

"Wanna shoot some zombies in 'The Home Of The Dead 4' to vent?" Junpei suggested.

"Alright, let's go!" Minako immediately perked up with a happy expression. The other two juniors could have sworn they saw sparkles around her face with how happy she was.

"No, she won't! You're corrupting her!" Yukari stopped their plans by stepping in between the two.

"Don't stop our fun, Yuka-tan," Junpei complained as he tried to sidestep her but she insisted in getting in his way. "What do you mean, I corrupted her?"

"The both of you are spending all your share of the money we find in Tar-" Yukari coughed awkwardly to stop herself from revealing their secret activities to their classmates. "I mean, that place. The both of you are spending your share of the money all on games! What about your equipment? What if they break in the middle of the exploration and you don't have any extras?"

"Oh, come on. The police station is just feet away from the arcade. We're not going to forget about getting replacements when we're being reminded each time we go there," he brushed aside her concerns.

"Well, I have something important to talk about with Minako in private and I want to do it today. What do you say, Minako?" Yukari asked. She almost blurted out that she would refuse on Minako's behalf. With what just happened with Mitsuru, forcing Minako to do anything today was a very bad idea.

"Fine," Minako agreed with a sigh. "Sorry, Junpei-kun. Another day, then."

"Okay... Later," he replied and left by himself, clearly disappointed at the turn of events.

Yukari and Minako headed to a cafe in Paulownia Mall to have their talk. After ordering their drinks, Yukari opened up about how she assumed the both of them were the same. She apologized for that since she lost her father while Minako lost her entire family. Their situations were not the same but they were relatable. The difference was how each of them reacted to their tragedy. She apologized for maybe saying some unfair things to Minako when she had just woken up from her coma and wanted to give a proper apology. She went on to say how distant she felt to the other students because they could complain about their parents scolding them for whatever reason. She was jealous of that and in turn felt lonely until Minako came around.

Minako wanted to point out a slight error in her thinking about assuming every single other student other than them still had both their parents around but withheld herself. She understood Yukari wanted to get this topic off her chest and simply listened politely. Yukari did admit that she sounded pretty selfish after everything was said and laughed about it. At the very least, Yukari was relieved that she had someone to relate to in some degree. Minako's acknowledgement of that provided the Social Link empowering the Lovers Arcana.

 *****Break Line*****

Junpei announced proudly to the two girls that Akihiko trusted him with a SEES-related task. Yukari said that he only asked him because he always had nothing to do after school. Out of curiosity, Minako asked what the task was about. Junpei told her Akihiko wanted him to bring the class roster for 2-E, the classroom opposite theirs. He was to bring it to the hospital since Akihiko had a checkup there for his ribs. Yukari butted her way in and volunteered to go with him. She asked if Minako wanted to come along too. Minako asked Junpei to show a little consideration to him since it was his task to begin with. He groaned in complaint but allowed her to come too.

When they arrived at the hospital and entered Akihiko's room, they found someone else instead. Yukari stared hard at Junpei, silently accusing him of getting the wrong room. He double-checked the message on his phone and it was the correct one. With no other choice, Junpei mustered his courage and asked the menacing stranger wearing a maroon coat and a beanie if this was Akihiko's room. The flat stare from the man intimidated him enough that he stepped back to his original position. Fortunately, Akihiko entered the room to save him from the man's stare and asked why everyone was here when he only asked Junpei. Minako replied she was only following Junpei and Yukari. The stranger asked 'Aki' if that was it, clearly referring to Akihiko. Akihiko gave his thanks to the man. The man grumbled about not having time for whatever Akihiko had him do before leaving. Just as he slid open the door, he stopped and stared at Minako.

"You..." he muttered under his breath, his voice almost inflecting familiarity as he continued to look at her. He noticed he was starting to stare too long and excused himself.

"Who was that?" Junpei asked the question in all the juniors' heads.

"A friend from school... sort of," Akihiko answered. He explained that his friend knew a few people suffering from Apathy Syndrome and was asking him about it. "Hey Junpei, did you bring what I asked?"

"Of course, senpai," Junpei grinned and handed over the class roster. Akihiko eagerly accepted it and flexed his arm, causing the juniors to worriedly tell him to stop. He said he was fine and needed to get back into his training. Yukari asked why he chose boxing as his choice of fighting against the Shadows. He answered that he did not particularly like boxing and that he just wanted to learn how to fight. His face fell into a depressed look as he said he knew how it felt to be powerless and did not want to feel that way again. When he noticed he was making the atmosphere uncomfortable, he immediately erased it by joking about how he considered it a game against himself. Junpei tried to follow up with the joke but he failed to understand the context and ruined it much to Yukari's annoyance.

 *****Break Line*****

"Hi, how have you been?" Minako was awoken from her sleep by a familiar voice. She opened her eyes to see a green ceiling, meaning it was during the Dark Hour. She turned her head and saw the boy in prison pajamas at the side of her bed. "One week from now, there will be a full moon..." he informed her. "Be careful. A new ordeal awaits you..."

"What kind of ordeal?" Minako asked as calmly as she could as she sat up to properly speak with him. She bit down on her rising anger at his appearance as consideration for him since he was talking with her cordially.

"You will encounter one of _them,"_ he emphasized. "You must prepare for the ordeal, but time is of the essence... I'm sure you're aware of that, of course."

"Exactly who or what are 'them' that you're referring to?"

"All I remember is that they are a group. I'm sorry, but that's all I can say. Other details about them is unclear to me..." he said sadly before clearing it away. "I'll come see you again when it's over. Goodbye for now."

"Hold it!" Minako reached out and grabbed his hand before he could disappear into the shadows again. She shivered involuntarily at how cold he was to the touch but got over it quickly. "Before you go..." she stopped him so she could say what she wanted to say. "You wanted me to help you, right? Can you tell me what you need help with?"

"...It's my memory," he hesitantly answered. "I don't remember anything about myself, and the things I do remember are very vague. The only things clear to me are the key to my memories is in the Dark Hour and that only you can help me find it through ordeals that I can sense when they will appear. I can't speak to you outside of the Dark Hour either. Can you help me? ...Please?"

"I'll do what I can. I'll help you remember who you are, I promise," Minako made a sincere promise to the boy. She felt terrible for him, not remembering anything about himself and stuck with a literal stranger, forced to rely solely on their goodwill. She could no longer hold onto her grudge against him for tricking her into awakening her power. Igor was a completely different story. She felt he took advantage of the boy for his own needs since he knew of the boy's presence but not the other way around. "You're stuck with me, right? So until you remember everything about yourself, I'll help you."

"You really will?" he dared to hope.

"Yes. You can count on me," she ruffled his hair in an affectionate manner.

"Thank you, Minako," the boy said happily but his somewhat flat tone was not properly portraying his gratitude.

"You're welcome..." Minako paused, suddenly remembering something. "What's your name, by the way?"

"My name? I don't have one. ...Or at least, I don't remember it," he replied. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I can wait until you remember."

"Okay. Goodnight, Minako."

"Goodnight." She watched him disappear into the walls again and circled the date on her calendar which he had pointed out as the day of the ordeal. She double-checked again to account for the Dark Hour and once she was satisfied she had the correct date, she went back to sleep.

 *****Break Line*****

Minako's treasured free time after school was further shortened when she found out from Ms. Toriumi that joining a committee was compulsory for students. She reluctantly joined the library committee, hoping that it was more lenient when it came to workload compared to the health committee. She was placed under the care of Saori Hasegawa, a junior that even the seniors were polite towards. That was because she was two years older than the normal age of juniors because she studied abroad and took time off from school hence being the oldest student in the school. She was uncomfortable being spoken to politely because of that and requested Minako to try and be informal with her. When Minako agreed to do so, Saori's relief at that formed the Social Link empowering the Hermit Arcana.

 *****Break Line*****

The day the boy prophesized an ordeal would happen was today. Minako excused herself from all her school activities including hanging out with Junpei and Yukari and headed to the police station to sell her damaged naginata for a small discount for a brand new naginata. She took an evening nap to refresh herself for the Dark Hour. She awoke five minutes before the Dark Hour and washed up, dressed in her school uniform and waited on standby. True to the boy's word, an alarm rang throughout the dorm and Akihiko ordered the juniors to wake up and assemble at the command room in their combat gear through the PA system. Minako, having expected an emergency to happen, waited outside the command room for Junpei and Yukari before entering with them.

"We've detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus. We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one," Mitsuru informed them of the situation. "We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible. Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs."

"In other words, we need to kick some ass, right? Well, count me in!" Junpei simplified what Mitsuru said while sounding excited.

"Junpei..." Yukari sighed in frustration at his attitude.

Mitsuru was quick to shoot down any chances of Akihiko joining the fight, ordering him to take charge of the command room and wait for the chairman who was on his way. He protested against it but Mitsuru told him the juniors would fare better than he would currently and that he should have faith in them because they were ready. Her impression of the juniors was slightly ruined when the seniors witnessed the juniors seemingly fooling around and playing janken with each other with Junpei as the winner.

"Relax! I've got it covered!" Junpei stepped up to take the role of field leader while Minako and Yukari stepped back in deference to him. Akihiko could only look at the juniors in disappointment and shook his head.

"I guess I've got no choice... Minako, you're in charge," Akihiko immediately called for a role switch, much to the shock of the juniors.

"But Akihiko-senpai, we've already decided that Junpei is the leader for tonight," Yukari spoke up.

"Through janken? Are you guys taking this seriously?" Akihiko asked sternly.

"We are, honest, but this seemed like the best idea..." Minako answered timidly. It was not often the juniors saw Akihiko mad or upset, but when he did just like on their very first exploration when they messed up, he was really scary.

"We're counting on you," Mitsuru supported Akihiko's choice, looking squarely at Minako.

"If I can help out, then..." she gave up resistance and reluctantly took the role away from Junpei.

"I know you can do this," Akihiko gave his support to her. It was clear now that the seniors preferred Minako as the leader.

"Guess it's pretty much decided you're our leader, huh...?" Junpei grouched.

"The responsibility of leader falls to those who have the gift of leadership," Mitsuru said. "I did not forget how you spoke to Minako on your first exploration. So let me add, if you say or do anything to condescend her just because she's a girl..." she left the remaining unsaid. Junpei immediately denied having any such thoughts like that. Akihiko cut them off by telling the juniors to head to the station and wait for Mitsuru there. As they waited at the meeting spot, Yukari commented on the full moon and how creepy it looked during the Dark Hour. The sound of an engine startled them as they looked around. They soon saw someone riding a large motorcycle with bulky equipment attached to it. It turned out the rider was Mitsuru and she had a specialized motorcycle just like the van Akihiko drove them home in whenever they wanted to do an exploration. Mitsuru got down to business in an instant, telling them that the Shadow was currently located in a monorail not far from the station and they had to walk on the tracks to get to it. She assured them it was safe since it was during the Dark Hour. If circumstances changed, she would inform them by the usual method. All of the juniors exchanged uneasy looks with each other before acknowledging there was no other way and made their way onto the tracks.

Mitsuru contacted them to test their mental connection just as they reached the specified monorail. She told them to proceed with caution and to stick together. Yukari was the first to climb the foothold and warned Junpei not to look up her skirt. He made no promises and denied any fault of his own if he happened to catch a glimpse. She coldly suggested for Minako to bury him where they stood and leave him behind. Minako politely refused and said that she should hurry up and finish climbing instead of hanging in the middle and trying to tempt Junpei. Junpei let out a muffled snort of amusement as he turned away quickly to hide his smirking face. Yukari grumbled about girls having to stick together on something like this and Minako not doing so. Junpei climbed up second while Minako took a look at the monorail from the outside. She briefly wondered why all the doors were open when electronics were supposed to be unable to function in the Dark Hour. She found it weird but did not question it further and followed her friends up, thinking it was a safety function of the monorail to open its doors automatically so that passengers would not be stuck inside if there happened to be a power outage that took out the monorail system. The moment she entered, all the doors suddenly shut themselves. Mitsuru heard Yukari's gasp of surprise and asked what happened. Yukari filled her in and Mitsuru told them to proceed with extreme caution because it was likely the Shadow's doing and it knew they were there.

"What do we do, leader?" Yukari asked.

"There's only one way to go. We just have to keep moving forward until we find the Shadow," Minako replied. There was an uncomfortable lack of Shadows as they walked past the first three cars. When one did appear, it turned around and fled into the car further ahead of them.

"Hey, get back here!" Junpei began to give chase when Mitsuru's warning stopped him. That particular Shadow was acting strange and it seemed suspicious to her. "But if we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it!"

"Minako, you're in command there. What do you think?" Mitsuru asked Minako about her course of action.

"We should chase after it! We're going in its direction, after all!" Minako had a similar mindset to Junpei with more rationality behind her decision.

"But, why did it retreat after revealing itself? It doesn't make sense. Think about it," Mitsuru encouraged her to think about her decision again. That caused Minako to hesitate as she looked between Yukari and Junpei for help. "Be careful."

"...Fine, I'll go myself," Junpei had enough of pussyfooting around the danger when there was clearly only one way to go. "You guys take your time thinking it over and watch me beat it all by myself!"

"Junpei! Wait!" Yukari called for him to stop when he ran off on his own. She was startled by two warnings coming from both Minako and Mitsuru telling her to watch out behind her. She turned around and stumbled back just as Minako stepped in front of her and took out the Shadow attempting to strike her from behind. "Th-Thanks, Minako..." Yukari breathed out, releasing the sudden panic inside her. With her nerves calmed, she took out the other Shadow that was coming towards them. "This is just what the enemy wanted..." she groaned.

"Junpei-kun and I had the right idea! I shouldn't have hesitated on my decision to chase after that Shadow! We wouldn't have been separated like this!" Minako blamed herself in frustration.

"We have no choice. You have to go after him, or you'll be picked off one by one," Mitsuru told them.

"Damn it, Stupei! What are you thinking?" Yukari was irritated at Junpei's selfish behavior.

"From what I can tell, he's only a few cars ahead."

"Let's go!" Minako urged.

"He should know it's too dangerous to go alone... Don't you think he's acting weird? Did you say something to upset him, Minako?" Yukari asked as they ran through the cars in front of them. "Well, we can ask him once we've caught up to him!" A few cars ahead, they finally caught sight of him. "There he is! Shoot! He's surrounded! We've gotta help him!"

Junpei was having trouble with swinging his weapon in the tight space of a monorail car. He was getting increasingly frustrated by constantly getting attacked while trying to mind his own attacks so as not to damage the monorail in any way.

"Junpei!" he heard Yukari call his name just as an arrow found itself in one of the Shadows and breaking its mask, disintegrating it.

"...I've got it under control!" he insisted, but he clearly was not. Minako quickly joined him and fought off the remaining Shadows with him as Yukari summoned Io and healed Junpei of his accumulated injuries. With the group together again, the Shadows were easily dispatched.

"See! That's what happens when you don't listen!" Yukari scolded him once the battle was over. "...So, are you alright?"

"O-Of course I am..." Junpei was breathing heavily, not convincing the girls at all. "I was doing just fine..."

"Excuse me!" she snapped at him angrily.

"That's enough, Yukari!" Minako got in between the both of them before any argument could happen. "As leader, it's my fault. Junpei-kun had the right idea and I agreed to it as well. It was my fault I turned back on my decision and made him angry which lead to this. Stop blaming him."

"Be careful, you three!" Mitsuru's voice interrupted them. "I don't detect any movement, but stay alert!"

The three of them stood still as they surveyed the car they were in, looking for any hiding Shadows. They were just about to relax when the monorail started moving by itself. Mitsuru was quick to point out, a little too calmly, that it seemed the monorail was under the Shadow's control. Yukari exclaimed by asking why Mitsuru thought that 'it seemed' was a good way to describe their situation. Mitsuru ignored her and urged them to hurry and take down the main Shadow or the monorail will crash into the one ahead of it.

"Oh god! What are we gonna do?" Yukari was in complete panic. Mitsuru told her to calm down and listen, because she sensed the main Shadow was residing in the front car. They had to defeat it to stop the monorail. They all rushed to the front car and encountered said Shadow.

"What the hell? ...Is this the frigging boss?" Junpei was extremely uncomfortable with how the very large female Shadow looked like and the position she was sitting in.

"I have never seen anything like this..." Mitsuru whispered through their mental connection. "The Shadow belongs to the Priestess Arcana. I'm sorry, but that's all I am able to sense from it." Upon seeing SEES, the Priestess summoned two smaller Shadows to her aid. "Reinforcements! How annoying...!" she clicked her tongue in said annoyance. The Priestess was clearly buying time for herself. The longer she was alive, the more danger everybody in the monorail was in.

"Eat this!" Junpei raised his Evoker to his head and fired, summoning Hermes. That was good except Hermes had nowhere to go since it was too big to do more than stand still in the monorail. It could not even fly to dodge when the Priestess sent her sharp hair to strike at it, causing it to forcefully disappear and damaging Junpei from the feedback.

"Junpei!" Yukari cried out worriedly as Junpei fell to one knee and clutched his head in pain. She summoned Io who quickly healed Junpei before casting Garu at the Priestess. Unfortunately, her minions used themselves as meat shields and protected her at the cost of their lives. That was of little concern to her, since she just re-summoned them again. Minako tried going for a direct attack but the hair moved on its own to protect its owner before repelling Minako back.

"We can't get close...!" Minako was beginning to panic as well. She watched Junpei and Yukari summon their Personas again to cast their magic spells but the smaller Shadows kept on taking the hits for the Priestess. "I'll take the smaller ones! You two, throw spells at the main one!" she yelled out an order. With their new strategy, things finally began to turn in their favor. With Minako on guard for the smaller Shadows, they could not go to the defense of their master. The Priestess was getting hit by either an Agi or a Garu even as she tried blocking with her hair and was beginning to wear down. That was until she had enough and stopped summoning her minions, instead going for a spell that none of the juniors were prepared for.

"Take cover! It's a Mabufu spell!" Mitsuru warned but it was too late. She knew none of the juniors had ever seen the signs of a Bufu spell, but she did. Hermes and Io were forcefully dispelled upon being hit, leaving Junpei and Yukari with feedback damage as they clutched their heads while shouting and screaming in pain. Minako, on the other hand, was frozen in ice from her waist down. She frantically tried to break the ice with her naginata but was only managing to chip it. "Look out!" Mitsuru exclaimed and Minako looked at the Priestess to see one of her hair strands draw back, telegraphing its attack and who its target was. Minako paled drastically at seeing the preparation and turned back to look at Junpei and Yukari who were just recovering from their feedback damage.

"Junpei-kun! Yukari! Help me...!" Minako pleaded as fear finally set in her and tears involuntarily escaped from her eyes. She could not even attempt to summon her Persona because her Evoker was in the block of ice.

"Junpei, hurry! Melt the ice before it attacks!" Yukari screamed in full-blown panic at Junpei.

"I can't...! The headache is stopping me from summoning my Persona!" he yelled back, one hand still clutching his head. Yukari could not fault him since she was under the same dilemma as he was. The only reason he got over his previous feedback damage so quickly was because Io was healing him. They heard Minako scream out in absolute fear as the hair strand dived straight at her.

"Minako!" they both screamed for her safety. They could only watch in horror as her naginata was snapped right in half from a desperate block. It seemed like time had slowed down for them as they saw the force of the attack break Minako free from the ice holding her in place and sent her flying down the middle of the car. She landed with a loud thud in between them, her hair covering her eyes and a pool of blood slowly appearing around her body. "Minako!" their second scream returned time back to its normal speed as they ran to her side.

"Oh no, oh no...! I have to heal her...!" Yukari was in tears as she fumbled with her Evoker. When she fired it, nothing was summoned. "Why? Why now!" she screamed. She was at her emotional limit from not being able to summon Io.

"Takeba, you have to calm down! You're in too much panic to concentrate enough to summon your Persona!" Mitsuru advised her. "Iori, guard them as best as you can until Takeba has calmed down enough to start healing Minako!"

"On it!" Junpei was beginning to let anger consume his thoughts but forced himself to focus on defending Yukari and Minako. The Priestess had summoned her minions again and let out a haunting laugh, not even bothering to attack him. He knew why and it infuriated him. She did not need to kill them herself. Time would do it for her. There was no need to attack, and she knew he could not get to her alone even with Hermes. "Pull yourself together, Yukari! Minako needs you!" he glanced back to see Yukari taking hasty breathing exercises to get her emotions under control.

 **"Persona..."** Yukari attempted another summoning and this time it was successful. "Please, Io! Heal Minako!" she begged her Persona who quickly worked on healing the laceration on Minako's abdomen where all the blood was leaking from. Upon seeing Io, the Priestess finally moved on the attack, gesturing for her minions to charge.

"No, you don't!" Junpei rushed in to prevent the minions from stopping the healing. He had to endure hearing the Priestess laugh at him as he tussled with her minions who were re-summoned each time he destroyed them.

"Minako, you're awake! Thank goodness!" Yukari cried out in relief. Junpei could finally allow a smile to appear on his face.

"Yukari... Thank you..." Minako sounded really weak and Junpei retreated to her side and helped her sit up.

"Glad to have you back," he tried to lift her spirits even with a weak grin.

"Are you still hurting? Are you still bleeding anywhere?" Yukari looked over Minako worriedly and was ordering Io to continuously heal her friend, not willing to take any chances.

"Minako, you're alright! What a relief!" Mitsuru's voice rang out in her head. "If you're capable of still fighting, join Takeba and Iori! You have to stop the Shadow! The lives of everyone in the monorail depends on you, including your own!"

"Understood..." Minako replied and stood up with the help of her friends.

"Your weapon got broken. I know what Mitsuru-senpai said, but leave the rest to us," Junpei told her.

"I still have a weapon..." she said and drew her Evoker. She placed the nozzle to her temple and fired without any hesitance. **"Persona!"** The blue mist appeared and swirled around her body for a moment before dispersing. With its dispersal came a feeling of unbridled fury emanating from her.

 **"How dare you! How dare you harm Anchin-sama!"** Minako let out a scream reminiscent of a banshee. **"I will burn you to the point not even your own destruction will save you from my wrath!"** As if her rage supplied her with additional power, blue flames were being emitted from her feet and swirled around her body.

"Ow, ow, ow! Hey! Watch your flames!" Junpei sputtered as he stumbled away from her. While Hermes granted him some resistance towards Agi spells, it did not do much for actual rising temperatures. He was still susceptible to heat because it was not inherently magic compared to the Agi spells. Minako paid no heed to him as the swirling flames expanded around her. She did not bat an eye either when her flames licked towards Yukari who had not gotten enough distance from her yet. Io moved to protect her summoner and ended up dispelled as she was destroyed by the unrelenting magic fire, causing Yukari feedback damage. "Hey, hey! Calm down, Persona-san! You're hurting your allies!" Junpei shouted as he quickly pulled the suffering Yukari further back. His shouting managed to get through to Minako this time as the flames disappeared.

 **"You people are to blame for Anchin-sama's injury as well with your lack of aptitude!"** Minako snapped her head in his direction, scaring him in place with the sheer anger and hatred in her eyes. Junpei ducked for cover at the last second when a large fireball was sent his way, clearly meant to attack him. The fan had appeared in her hand and another fireball was already floating on top of its opened horizontal position. **"Burn to ashes!"** she screamed as she pulled her arm back to send it forward.

 _"...p! Stop! Please stop!"_ Minako froze when she heard a voice ring in her head. It was not like the annoying buzzing when Mitsuru was trying to contact her and she refused to pick up the 'call'.

 **"Anchin-sama...? Is that you, Anchin-sama?"** Minako's fury was suddenly replaced by immense bliss as she smiled happily. **"Oh, how I've long wished to hear your voice, Anchin-sama!"** She spun in place with her hands clasped together like a love-struck maiden.

 _"Don't hurt my friends! Destroy the enemy Shadow, please! We don't have any more time!"_ Minako pleaded from inside her own head. This was the first time she was conscious while her Persona was in command of her body. She was suspended inside what appeared to be clear, breathable water and she was viewing what her Persona was seeing from a screen that was not distorted by the water. When she heard her Persona yell at Junpei, she thought it was simple misdirected anger for her own safety. It was only after she attacked him that she tried to establish a connection with her Persona. It took screaming at the screen like a complete fool for a few seconds before her Persona started hearing her.

 **"As you wish, Anchin-sama! I, Kiyohime, will fulfill your every command!"** her Persona declared with utmost faith before her delighted look shifted into one of seriousness. **"I will eliminate all enemies that impede your path!"** With a twirl, she slapped the prepared fireball with her fan and flung it in the other direction, taking the Priestess by complete surprise. Her fireball scored a direct hit on her, making her let out a haunting scream of pain. **"You will find I am not as easy to deal with like the others."** With another swing of her fan, three fireballs shot out from it and each found their mark on the Priestess and her minions. The minions were destroyed in a single hit and although the Priestess defended herself with her hair, it was not enough to prevent recoil from guarding and left her open to a direct hit from yet another fireball. She screamed in rage and pain. She retaliated by sending her hair strands forward but because Kiyohime was not hindered by size like Hermes and Io was, she easily dodged the attacks and returned fire with unerring accuracy. From the way the Priestess was slumped after receiving the counterattack, she was close to being defeated.

"Here's our chance for an All-Out Attack!" Yukari had recovered from the feedback damage and saw the chance for victory. Junpei did not need any further encouragement as he charged in with his sword raised like a madman, even screaming like one as he hacked and slashed as hard and fast as he could. She summoned Io again and ordered it to assault the Priestness with multiple Garu spells while she took careful aim with her bow and arrows. Kiyohime watched them for a moment before conjuring a blue flame and held it steady until Junpei backed off. When he did, she dealt the final blow that destroyed the boss Shadow. With the threat gone, Kiyohime receded control of the body back at Minako's request who informed her friends of her return.

"Did we make it in time?" Junpei asked, alert for any remaining Shadows. While none appeared, something else caught his attention. "...Hey! Why're we still moving!"

"We're going too fast! We have to put on the brakes or else...!" Yukari replied in just as much as panic as him. Natural loss of momentum would not help avert a collision and she knew that.

"What are you waiting for? There's a train up ahead!" Mitsuru scolded them for taking away precious time for their panicking. They rushed to open the door to the conductor's area and fortunately, the electronic lock keeping passengers out was disabled due to the Dark Hour. But even then, none of them knew how to operate the controls.

"Damn it! I don't know how to stop this thing!" Junpei screamed.

"Junpei-kun! Pull that lever on your right!" Minako shouted at him and pointed out the said lever. "It's like the game we played in the arcade! It should be that one!" It had to be the same lever, or else they would all die. Yukari could only scream as she got on her knees and covered her head.

"It's all or nothing now!" he prayed as he slammed the lever down. The sound of metal screeching against metal never sounded so pleasant as it did in that moment. "D-Did we stop?" he asked when no collision happened. The monorail ahead of them was mere meters in front of them. They almost did not make it.

"I-I think so..." Yukari replied as she stood up with shaking knees.

"Is everybody alright?" Mitsuru asked.

"Uh, y-yeah, we're okay," she replied and laughed awkwardly. "My knees are shaking..."

"Dude... I'm like drenched in sweat..." Junpei said.

"I'm so glad you're safe..." Mitsuru sighed in relief. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more on my end. I don't detect any more Shadows. You guys did a great job, so come on home."

"Hey, are you okay, Minako-tan?" Junpei asked when Minako remained completely silent. Instead of giving a reply, she sat against the wall and hugged her legs tightly before she broke out crying.

"I'm sorry! This is all my fault...!" Minako wept.

"Oh, crap... Hey, hey, don't cry! Where'd I put my handkerchief?" he tried to comfort her as he searched his pockets.

"I thought it was strange when I saw the doors open and I didn't say anything! Then we all got caught in the Shadow's trap, I hesitated in making an important decision and because of my own cowardice, I nearly cost us all our lives and everyone in here by not summoning my Persona until it was almost too late! And even then, it tried to attack the both of you! I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"

Neither Yukari nor Junpei said anything as they quietly sat down next to Minako and comforted her. Yukari rubbed circles on her back while Junpei just made himself known by sitting close enough for their shoulders to touch so she knew he was there with her. The support they were showing Minako strengthened the Social Link for the Fool Arcana which she quickly banished from her mind. She did not need a reminder linked to the Velvet Room right now. She just wanted to let her guilt and sorrow out.

"How did you know which one was the brake?" Yukari asked Junpei.

"The arcade. Minako remembered this train conductor game we played a few days back. She told me the lever for the brake looked the same so we bet on it," Junpei replied and huffed in amusement. "We would have been finished if she didn't remember that. Imagine that. The knowledge of an arcade game saving our lives."

"Seriously?" Yukari did not know whether to feel impressed or insulted at that. To prevent a migraine from appearing, she decided not to think about it any further and simply accepted it. "We'd better get going. We shouldn't keep Mitsuru-senpai waiting."

"Yeah. You ready to go, Minako-tan?" Junpei asked Minako who only nodded. He helped her up and handed her his handkerchief so she could wipe away her tears and clean her face. He figured it was wise to not mention that it had already been used to wipe away sweat earlier in the day. He did give a mental apology for that and hoped she did not find out. The trip back to the station was silent except for Minako's hiccups from her heavy crying. When they saw Mitsuru, Yukari was quick to explain to her that Minako had taken the close call of the operation really hard and saving the questions as to what happened in detail for another day would be greatly appreciated.

"Very well. But first, I have to let you know that my connection to Minako was lost sometime during the battle with the Shadow and I only reconnected with her after it. Did she summon her Persona?" Mitsuru asked.

"She did. Her Persona was furious that Minako suffered a serious injury and turned on us for a bit because of that," Yukari explained. "Minako did manage to stay conscious after summoning it and I guess she managed to calm it down enough and direct it towards the enemy. I think that's about the only good thing that came out of this."

"Don't sell yourselves short. All of you did a tremendous job."

"Thanks, Mitsuru-senpai."

"Did you manage to get the identity of Minako's Persona? Akihiko wanted to know."

"Akihiko-senpai does?"

"He has a theory on how to help Minako control her Persona. Because it's sentient, it has a personality of its own. If we have its identity, then we might have a way to approach the problem. Personas are based on historical figures, myths and legends. We can get a rough idea of its personality based on stories about them."

"I'm more surprised none of us figured out until now with the way Minako's Persona kept referring to her as Anchin-sama. If I heard correctly, her Persona introduced itself as Kiyohime."

"Just like the folklore?"

"Yes. That makes me even more worried for Minako. If how the story goes is true..."

"Kiyohime kills Anchin. And if her Persona views Minako herself as Anchin, it may very well attempt to kill her too."

 *****End Of Chapter*****

 **First boss fight is done! You know that time limit that is given to you? It's way too long to the point that the scene following the boss fight doesn't feel right. It would be fine if it wasn't there to begin with so the feeling of the last second save actually fits. In the game, we got the only boss fight with absolutely no gimmicks to it except it can summon and has a time limit. But said summons aren't dangerous, can be completely ignored and the time limit is way too long, making the gimmicks moot.** **If the time limit had to be there, I feel it would fit more if the Priestess actually fought with the goal of stalling for time, which is what I made her do in this fanfic. And her minions are actually not useless.**

 **Minako's Persona has been revealed and I spiced up the boss fight to make the overall scene hopefully more enjoyable to read. The days leading up to the boss fight are used to develop the relationship between the juniors as well as jotting down the activated Social Links for Minako. A change from canon is that Minako does not join the student council and has not activated the Social Link for the Emperor Arcana.**

 **Thank you very much to the reviewers who sent in their suggestions. Rest assured they are in consideration and I'm checking to see if I'm satisfied with the alignment to the Arcana as well as if I'm capable and comfortable enough to write a given character and not get them wrong to the point it becomes out of character.**

 **Here's the update.**

 **Fool: Kiyohime**

 **Magician: ? (Already decided)**

 **Priestess: ? (Already decided)**

 **Empress: ?**

 **Emperor: Unnamed**

 **Hierophant: ? (Recently decided for myself)**

 **Lovers: ?**

 **Chariot: ? (Already decided)**

 **Justice: ?**

 **Hermit: ?**

 **Fortune: ?**

 **Strength: ?**

 **Hanged Man: ?**

 **Death: ? (Already decided)**

 **Temperance: ?**

 **Devil: ?**

 **Tower: ?**

 **Star: ?**

 **Moon: ?**

 **Sun: ? (Suggestion accepted)**

 **Judgement: ?**

 **Suggestions for the free slots are still welcome for future chapters until everything has been filled out.**

 **I look forward to getting more readers who like this story! Do Follow/Favorite/Review this story, and big thanks to those who are kind enough to do so!**


	4. Chapter 4

The week following the near-disastrous mission left SEES in a quiet mood. Minako refused to talk about the operation when questioned by Mitsuru and Yukari had to give the operation details for her. Yukari was surprised when Mitsuru forbade any exploration into Tartarus while she and Akihiko evaluated their performance. She explained that success deserved due praise but performance was another issue. It was also out of consideration for the juniors since Minako nearly died and perhaps they needed the time to calm down from that experience. Junpei was the only one among the juniors to keep a positive attitude and it was helping Minako out of her depressed state of mind. While it was a good thing, Yukari could not help but feel displeased when she tailed them one day and found out that Minako was just as much of a video game junkie as Junpei was. Only ten minutes in the arcade and she was already feeling irritated by the atmosphere and noise in the establishment. No wonder they got along so well when every other girl that had interacted with him always held him in a low opinion, herself included despite being so-called friends with him. She was sure Mitsuru did too as well if her implication that he was secretly sexist was any indication.

It was not like the success of the operation did not wield any results. Apathy Syndrome cases had dropped to a new low and some victims had seemingly recovered overnight. This was something that gave the juniors pride in their actions at least. Akihiko met Minako at the school gates during the midterm exams and informed her that he was joining them in their explorations after the exams were over. He gave her a message to pass to the other juniors to gather for a meeting on the evening of the final day of the exams.

 *****Break Line*****

"Senpai, I heard you're fully healed!" Yukari cheered for Akihiko. After the exam week, he had gone to the hospital for one last checkup and he was finally cleared for action by the doctor that specially attended to SEES, being one of the Kirijo Group's doctors that knew about the Dark Hour.

"Congrats, man!" Junpei added to the cheer.

"I need to catch up on my training. I've slacked off for a whole month," Akihiko said.

"Shouldn't you take it easy, though? You don't wanna re-injure your arm," Yukari mentioned.

"I've already wasted precious time. Besides, we found another Persona-user."

"We did? Sweet!" Junpei was pleasantly surprised by the news before his face turned a little lewd. "Is it a girl...?"

"Actually, it is. She's a junior who goes to our school." Akihiko replied without being bothered by him. "Fuuka Yamagishi... Do you guys know her?"

Yukari recognized the name, knowing it belonged to someone in class 2-E. From what she heard, the girl got sick a lot and was not seen at school often.

"She was at the same hospital as me. That's how we found out about her. But, maybe she's not cut out for battle. I had an Evoker made for her, too..." he sighed towards the end.

"What? We're giving up on her already?" Junpei exclaimed. "I was gonna offer her some private lessons..." he said mischievously.

"What kind of lessons?" Minako asked, causing Yukari to slap her forehead and groan.

"You seriously didn't get what he was implying?" Yukari asked in exasperation.

"I thought he was offering to help her catch up on the lessons she missed."

"How can you be so... Agh!" she groaned even louder and glared at Junpei who could only scratch his cheek in embarrassment and look away. Even he noticed how Minako had completely missed his double entendre and the very obvious hidden message. Minako could only look between the both of them in confusion.

"Wh-Why're you looking at me like that? Come on... I'm a guy. What did you expect?" Junpei retorted but even he felt his defense was weak.

"One more thing," Akihiko interrupted them. "Mitsuru and I have come to the decision that on the next exploration onwards, I will take over the duties as field leader. After a month of trial and error and a major operation, none of you have come to an agreement on who is to be field leader. That's more than enough time to make a decision and still none of you did."

"We have a system in place already, Senpai," Junpei said.

"And it's about time to abolish that silly system of yours. We can't afford to keep fooling around. Can the three of you decide right here and now if I asked for a permanent field leader among you?" Akihiko challenged the juniors. Just by the way their eyes darted to one another in anxiety was enough proof for him. "I thought so. If there are no objections, I will be the field leader for future explorations in Tartarus and major operations. Any questions?" All three juniors shook their heads in synchronization. "Then there will be no more arguments about this, are we clear? If you don't like the way I handle things, then you'll just have to bear with it. You've all had your chances."

"Yes, Senpai!" the juniors answered as one.

 *****Break Line*****

After a random school day, Minako came across Akihiko when she was about to head home. He was too and invited her out to stop somewhere first. She agreed to follow him and as they walked to the school gates, she felt all the glares from his fan girls. She felt a cold shiver crawl up her spine and turned pale when she heard the not-too-subtle threats aimed towards her. Akihiko noticed and discreetly whispered to her to ignore them. She gave a shaky nod and walked beside him with her head held high. Her pale and sweating face did not help with her image, though.

They stopped at the strip mall and had lunch at the ramen shop where Akihiko treated her to an extra-large special bowl. As they ate, he mentioned how physical strength meant everything. No matter how remarkably skilled one was, it would be of no use if they got exhausted easily. After they were done eating, Akihiko wanted to go to another restaurant but decided against that idea when Minako seemed to struggle moving. He laughed as he commented on how small her stomach was and if she did not eat right, she would never grow stronger. She glared at him, feeling like he was treating her like a little kid. He took notice of her glare and said that he was not Junpei. He would not go easy on her just because she was a girl. He told her that Mitsuru had been considering her to be the permanent field leader but after their first operation, she redacted her decision. Now that he was made the field leader, he encouraged her to do her best and do a good job. He would be relying on her to watch his back and he would watch hers as well. His concern for her sparked the beginning of the Social Link empowering the Star Arcana. Her happy mood quickly plummeted when he forced her to jog with him all the way back to the dorm.

 *****Break Line*****

"Alright, let's get going. Don't worry, I won't push you too hard. I need to get back in the action too," Akihiko told the trio of juniors under his care. This would be their first trip into Tartarus under his leadership. They were banned from exploring Tartarus due to the exam week as well as the lack of proper leadership among the juniors. "Just like I told you guys last time, you've had your chances. I won't tolerate any complaining from you guys about how I do things unless it concerns your life and safety. Got that?"

"Yes, Senpai!" all three chorused.

As they climbed the tower, the juniors quickly learned that he preferred charging straight at a group of Shadows much like Junpei but when combat started, he quickly switched over to a more tactical approach similarly to Minako. With four active members on the field, the group got into formation quickly enough to impress Akihiko. He and Junpei were the front-liners, Minako would watch their backs for any sneak attacks as well as to defend Yukari while Yukari provided ranged support as well as in charge of healing any wounds.

When they arrived at a suspiciously empty floor, Mitsuru warned Akihiko that there was a Guardian Shadow where they were at. The juniors had encountered a few themselves before, but fortunately they were weak enough for their silly system of leadership to handle adequately. They teleported back to the ground floor to catch a short breather and to regroup. As they rested, Akihiko gave his views on how the juniors performed under him. Surprisingly, Junpei had the least amount of problems. Akihiko had studied their battle report with Mitsuru and had made plans to best utilize each of their strengths. Junpei was only suited to front-line combat and that alone. Even Hermes was extremely specialized with physical attacks with only a small pinch of Agi and support spells. There was no sense in chiding him for things outside of his specialty. In terms of non-Persona combat however, he was the least skilled. Akihiko could only advise him to work on his sword skills.

Yukari was best when it came to keeping the team healthy and her Garu spells packed a much harder punch compared to the boys' Agi and Zio spells. However, she seemed to have a problem with her given role and Akihiko picked up her displeasure at being allocated as the support member. He told her sternly that as an archer, she should not be seeking too much action. She would never be able to fight as fast as the others. He told her that if she had been the one ambushed in their first operation, she would have lasted the shortest, no questions about it. Her specialty was providing support and cover, not direct combat. Her role in the team was just as important as the combatants and it was not in any way demeaning to her. Instead of feeling like her ego was hurt, she should take pride in it. Yukari could only say she would work on accepting the role without feeling any bitterness towards it.

Minako was the biggest problem yet. In terms of non-Persona combat, she was second to Akihiko skill-wise but she could not keep up the fast pace set by him for long periods like Junpei could, which was why she was given the role as a watcher and told to act according to the situation. She would watch their backs and prevent the enemies from sneaking up to them as well as defend Yukari if she needed to make a shot or summon Io for healing. She had no problems accepting her role in the team but her extreme reluctance to summon her Persona was an issue that would grow out of control if it was not fixed as soon as possible.

"Minako, I don't have to tell you that while you perform your role in combat fine, you are still contributing the least among all of us?" Akihiko said in a questioning tone but it was clear to everyone that it was no question.

"Y-Yes..." Minako lowered her head in shame.

"I don't blame you for your reluctance to summon your Persona..." Akihiko paused as a look of pain flashed across his face before he schooled it back into a neutral expression. "But you will have to. You won't get much farther fighting as you are now."

"I understand..."

"Then summon it now," he ordered.

"W-What?" she stammered.

"Akihiko-senpai, is it really okay to force her like this?" Junpei asked, seeing the clear apprehension on Minako's face. "We're doing just fine without the firepower of Mina-tan's Persona."

"We're fine for now at least, but for how much longer? She will improve her natural fighting skills over time, we all will, but as I warned all of you: Without the help of our Persona, we are all screwed against the Shadows. This is for her sake as much as it is for ours." Neither Yukari nor Junpei could retort to his words. Akihiko was watching out for all of them but Minako had to take the first step on her own in order for SEES as a whole to progress. "Whenever you're ready, Minako," Akihiko gave her an encouraging nod. "Don't worry about your lack of control over your Persona. Mitsuru and I promised we'll help you with it."

Minako drew her Evoker from its holster and held it in her hand as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. She looked over to Mitsuru who nodded her head as well. With renewed confidence, she placed her Evoker against her temple and fired. Her vision went black as she expected but why did she hear two gunshots in rapid succession after her own?

"Senpai!" both Yukari and Junpei exclaimed in shock when Mitsuru and Akihiko suddenly summoned their Personas. Both of them had charged up a Bufu and Zio spell respectively but did not release them yet, simply aiming at the unresponsive Minako who was in the process of having her body being overtaken by her Persona.

 **"What is the meaning of this?"** Minako asked as she raised her head. Despite her polite tone, the anger was burning clearly in her eyes. Kiyohime was now in control of the body.

"We need to talk, Kiyohime," Akihiko told her. "It would be best for you if you could quietly listen to what we have to say."

 **"By threatening me with violence? Have you neither shame nor grace?"** she replied, glancing at Mitsuru as well.

"We would rather not have to, if not for the fact you are a danger to all of us, including Minako," Mitsuru said.

 **"How dare you imply I would endanger Anchin-sama with my own presence!"** Kiyohime was having none of it and stood up. Seeing it as a sign of resistance, Akihiko had Polydeuces unleash its Zio spell which was quickly sidestepped. Penthesilea let loose its Bufu but before it could get close, it was vaporized with an opposing fireball.

"What's going on here!" Junpei shouted, trying to stop the fight before it could get worse.

"Senpai, stop this, please!" Yukari pleaded with the seniors to no avail. They paid the juniors no attention as all their focus was on Kiyohime who suddenly looked distracted.

 **"But Anchin-sama, I couldn't simply allow them to tarnish your beautiful body! If I get hurt, it is you who will suffer the injuries at the end,"** she said to no-one in particular, most likely to Minako's presence within her. Her face turned into a pleading look as she listened to what Minako had to say to her. **"Anchin-sama, please trust in me, Kiyohime! I would never do anything to bring harm to you! But you cannot expect me to just accept undue attacks even from your friends... I do not wish to leave even a single scratch on your body while I am entrusted with it."** The other SEES members watched with nervous anticipation as Kiyohime had a conversation with Minako. Her distressed look slowly turned to one of relief as time went by. **"Very well, I will obey your commands, Anchin-sama. I give you my word that I will no longer bring harm to your friends intentionally. In exchange, please keep your promise to me that you will summon your Persona whenever you are in a particularly horrible situation. Please, promise me. I only ask this of you, my Master. And please, I beg of you... Don't lie to this Kiyohime. I do not wish to go through with what I did ever again..."**

Everyone was surprised when Kiyo raised a dainty finger to wipe away forming tears. When the blue mist appeared around her feet, they knew Minako was taking back control.

"Can we stop for tonight, Senpai? Neither my Persona nor I are in the mood to continue exploring. Especially not after what you tried to do to her," Minako asked in a clipped tone, barely managing to keep a polite manner of speech. Akihiko knew he had stepped over the line too much and conceded to her wishes, calling it quits for the night as he dismissed his Persona and looked towards Mitsuru for the final call. Both Junpei and Yukari let out huge sighs of relief that it did not turn into infighting. Mitsuru dismissed her Persona as well and called for a stop of the exploration of Tartarus. She did not miss the apprehensive look on Junpei, the suspicious look on Yukari, and the restrained anger on Minako aimed towards her. She quietly hoped that things would get better within SEES after this night was over.

 *****Break Line*****

On a particular day at school, seemingly every student was talking about a rumor concerning someone in class 2-E. According to Junpei, it concerned a missing girl from said class. She had mysteriously appeared in front of the school gates earlier this morning. Nobody knew what happened and she was supposedly still unconscious. He called himself as Ace Detective but Yukari immediately changed it to Ace Defective to his chagrin. She had been asking the teachers for information because she had seen the girl on her way back from club practice yesterday and she seemed completely fine then.

A week later, the SEES had a meeting over dinner at the dorm. Junpei started off by asking Yukari about the posts on the school's message boards. It was concerning the missing girl that was found at the school gate. Apparently there was a rumor that it was an angry spirit from a ghost story. Yukari got weirdly fidgety as she tried to shoot the rumor down. Unfortunately for her, Mitsuru was intrigued by the rumor and told Junpei to elaborate on it. Akihiko was interested in it as well and thus Yukari got overruled. Minako was the only one who had the apprehensive yet excited look of someone eager to hear a scary story and was prepared to be frightened. Junpei took this opportunity to take on the role of a creepy storyteller, leaning forward on the table with a flashlight he took from somewhere and shone the light upwards to his face, giving it a scary visage.

"Good evening. Welcome to 'Junpei's Believe it, or Don't'," he started talking in a mysterious voice. "There are many strange things in the world. According to one story, if you get caught at school late at night, you'll be devoured by a maniacal ghost that roams the halls!" According to one of his friends simply called Shu, he saw something strange. It was the missing girl, going into the school on the night of the incident. Shu was in the same class as her and she did not seem like the kind of girl to wander outside at night. He believed the ghost must had tried to make her its dinner and that was why they found her lying on the ground by the gate. With his tale done, he switched off the flashlight and leaned back into a more natural sitting position.

Instead of being amazed or spooked, Mitsuru and Akihiko were completely unfazed by it and just deemed it worthy of investigation. Yukari on the other hand, was shaking in her seat. Junpei poked fun at her fear of ghosts and in a display of bravado, she agreed to the investigation as well. She would prove that the ghost story was just a silly urban legend. The seniors were supportive of her bravery and let the juniors take the reins of the investigation much to her chagrin. Minako had a disappointed look on her face as she complained to Junpei that it was not scary at all and took away all her hype. He could only chuckle nervously as he apologized for a lackluster performance.

Later that midnight, in the Dark Hour, Minako was awoken by the boy in prison pajamas again who greeted her. He came to her with a reminder that it was exactly a week away from the full moon. Her second ordeal would be upon her on that day and he wished her good luck and to be careful. After a sleepy nod and thanks from a groggy Minako, he bade farewell and disappeared.

 *****Break Line*****

The juniors spent the next week investigating the rumors of the ghost story, or at least Yukari was. Junpei was not interested in the least about the investigation and was content to leave it all to her. On a day when Minako decided to do some small investigation of her own to contribute just a little bit, she ended up talking to one of the Student Council members. He was conducting an investigation of his own, hearing about a small group of students wanting to abolish the school uniform and that they were recruiting supporters. He asked about her opinion on the matter and she disagreed with the notion of abolishing the uniform, calling it pointless. He had a highly satisfied look on his face, agreeing with her stance on the subject. He said that life without any rules was ridiculous. Without rules, any organized system would collapse and the dissenters were mistaking selfishness for freedom. He quickly caught himself before he went into a rant and mentioned how he hated people without common sense and hoped she understood where he was coming from. To Minako's surprise, she felt a bond of trust coming from him and it triggered the formation of the Social Link empowering the Emperor Arcana.

When the investigation time was over and the juniors gathered in the dorm lounge, Yukari definitively deduced that there was no angry ghost involved in the rumors. The only similarity between the incident and the ghost story was the missing girl that was found on school grounds. Minako was just as clueless as Junpei about what she learned, going by their listless looks. Yukari let out a sound of displeasure as she continued explaining. The only reason the rumor spread so fast was because it was not the first time someone went missing and then found at the school gate. It was the third time. The three victims, though not connected to each other, had one thing in common: They hang out together and stayed out late. She did not think it was a mere coincidence and so, she proposed they do field research to find out what happened. There was one place where the three girls were regular visitors to. Junpei had caught on to what she was saying and was not thrilled. It was a back alley behind Port Island Station where delinquents often hung out and there were nasty rumors about that place. Yukari pointed out that was why they were going out as a group. Junpei refused to go along with her plan, claiming that they were getting in over their heads. Her argument against him was that she was tired of simply getting orders from Mitsuru and Akihiko and it did not sit right with her.

Minako pointed out that she seemed to be the only one unsatisfied with her place in SEES. Compared to them, the seniors actually knew what they were doing. The juniors did not, so Minako did not see the problem Yukari apparently had with them. Yukari argued that now was the time to prove that the juniors could do just that, convincing Junpei to at least tag along. With a majority vote, the juniors agreed to head out to the said place tomorrow night.

 *****Break Line*****

"Alright, let's get going," Yukari said as she prepared to leave.

"What's your hurry? I still think this is a bad idea," Junpei was disgruntled.

"And why do we have to go out in our school uniforms?" Minako was just as unhappy as Junpei. "I think it's safer if we go out in anything other than this. We'll stick out like sore thumbs! We should at least dress in something less suspicious for the back alley." It was a logical statement, something she learned when she had accidentally wandered into the back alley a few days ago playing with a stray cat during the afternoon after school and was warned by a non-hostile delinquent not to come around the back alley in school uniform. She was just asking for trouble if she did.

"Not to mention, bringing two girls there is like wandering into a lion's den with steaks strapped to my face... How could you be afraid of ghosts, but not be scared of this...?"

"It's easy to get freaked out by something you can't see, don't you think?" Yukari replied.

"Actually, I'm more worried about things I _can_ see... like bats and knifes!"

"Big deal, so it's a little dangerous and we're not dressed for the occasion..." Yukari completely brushed away their concerns. "Come on, it'll be an adventure!"

"More like a suicide mission," Junpei muttered as Yukari left the dorm.

"I'm feeling all kinds of unsafe right now..." Minako shivered in fright. "Hey, you'll protect us, won't you Junpei-kun?"

"H-Huh? Hey, you know it! Leave it to me!" Junpei bragged with a small, satisfied blush along with a smirk on his face. His manly ego was definitely stroked although Minako had not meant to do that. "Come on, let's go!"

Minako's bad feeling turned out to be true when the atmosphere immediately turned hostile the second they were spotted in the back alley. She was already using Junpei as cover, peeking over his back as she gripped his shirt tightly.

"Oh man, this is worse than I thought..." Junpei pulled his cap down lower over his face, trying to hide his own discomfort.

"Hey, you. I think you're in the wrong place," one of the delinquents said to them.

"Uh... Well, I..." he stammered in fear.

"You don't belong here, get it...? Beat it, Goatee..." It was a clear declaration for them to leave.

"G-Goatee? Oh, y-you mean me..."

"We don't need your permission to be here," Yukari spoke up, challenging the delinquent.

"H-Hey, are you nuts? Take a look around you!" Junpei warned her, trying not to escalate the situation.

"I'm not blind, you know," she groaned.

"I-I-If you d-don't mind, w-we were looking for answers a-as to why one of our f-friends ended up in h-hospital..." Minako tried to salvage what she could despite her severe stuttering, desperately hoping not to anger the various delinquents around them. The fact they could not legally bring their weapons outside during the normal 24 hours while in this situation scared her far more than the Shadows in Tartarus despite how monstrous some of them were.

"Come on, Minako! Don't be intimidated by these scum!" Yukari told her. Her declaration only made things worse as all the delinquents had angry looks on them. Minako paled harder, turning white as a sheet as she hid further behind Junpei. Some of the female delinquents poked fun at Yukari, threatening to humiliate her to the point where she wished she was never born. "These guys are the worst..."

"You ought to learn to shut that trap of yours..." the first delinquent walked towards them intimidatingly. "Man, I feel sorry for you, Goatee... This bitch is a pain in the ass, huh!" He threw a punch straight at Junpei's stomach, knocking him to the ground.

"Junpei!" both girls cried out his name. It was followed by a yelp from Minako as her arms was grabbed by the delinquent.

"Instead, you should be like this chick here, all polite. As least she knows her place." The delinquent was leering at Minako as she tried in vain to escape his grasp.

"Minako!" Yukari exclaimed, but could not move an inch to help her friend. Minako had starting crying as she leaned as far away as she could from him since she could not escape.

"Let her go...!" Junpei growled from his grounded position, just beginning to pick himself up.

"That's enough," a familiar voice spoke up. All heads turned to face the new speaker and the three juniors recognized him as Akihiko's sort-of friend. "They didn't know what they were getting into. I'll make sure they leave. Alright?" he offered a compromise to the delinquent.

"Who do you think you are, dumbass?" the delinquent would have none of it. "You want some too!" He pushed Minako away, causing her to stumble directly towards Junpei who immediately caught her and asked if she was alright and free of injuries. Akihiko's friend easily dodged the punch and returned the favor with a headbutt, knocking him back. "You just crossed the line! You think you're going home alive?"

"...Wanna give it a try?" he shot back calmly, hands still firmly in his coat pockets, having never removed them the whole time since he arrived. His casual stance coupled with his invitation rattled the delinquent's confidence, causing him to leave with the laughter from the female delinquents. The delinquent's friend remembered just who Akihiko's friend was, identifying him as Shinjiro Aragaki and a fellow student at Gekkou High.

"Oh man, senpai, that was awesome!" Junpei showered praise at Shinjiro the second all the delinquents left the back alley.

"...Shut it," he glared as Junpei who shrunk back. He witnessed the moment things had turned for the worse for the juniors, and seeing Minako crying and in danger of being harmed goaded him into action. It did not help that she looked so much like... He quickly shook away memories of the past, but the anger that surfaced from seeing Minako in peril remained. "You clowns were in Aki's room at the hospital. You idiots! Get outta here. This place isn't for you."

"Wait! We came here for a reason!" Yukari stopped him from leaving while Junpei consoled a weeping and terrified Minako.

"Did Aki tell you to come here?" he asked.

"Not exactly. He told us to investigate something but he didn't tell us to go anywhere in particular."

"Hmph. What do you wanna know? About that ghost story?"

"Um, yeah... How'd you know?" Yukari was surprised since she had not mentioned anything about their goal. Shinjiro mentioned it was a rumor commonly heard when the victims prior to their accidents came to the back alley every night to boast about the things they did to a girl named Fuuka. The juniors all recognized that name. It was the same Fuuka Yamagishi from class 2-E that Akihiko was interested in. That was why people were saying that it was Fuuka's vengeful spirit that did it. In other words, Fuuka might be dead as she had not been home for over a week. Junpei was surprised since the information they had pointed out that she was merely out sick and not missing.

Shinjiro suddenly started mumbling under his breath about Aki not being to let go of something. When Yukari asked about what he was mumbling about, he claimed it was nothing and told them that was all he knew. Yukari thanked him for the information and he warned them not to come to the back alley again. Just as he was about to leave the back alley, he was stopped by the sound a thunderous slap. He turned his head to see what happened and he saw Yukari stumbling back while Minako had just finished swinging her hand with tears streaking down her face.

"IF YOU WANT TO GET HURT THAT BADLY, THEN DO IT BY YOURSELF!" Minako screamed at her before she ran off.

"...I'm going after her. She did try to warn you about coming here in school uniform. You provoked those guys to attack us too. If not for Shinjiro-senpai, who knows what could've happened to us. Maybe you should think a little bit before you start picking fights," Junpei pulled his hat over his eyes. He did not want to antagonize Yukari but he felt she needed some harsh words, especially when she was the only one unscathed and he and Minako were the ones to get hurt due to her actions. He never met her eyes and chased after Minako.

"...So it was your idea. I thought it was his, considering how stupid you guys were acting the moment you arrived," Shinjiro spoke up. Yukari had a humiliated look on her face, unable to look at him, only holding a hand up to her red cheek. "You deserved that. The only one who should pay for your mistakes is yourself. No-one else, _no-one else,_ should suffer as well. I would know..." he muttered the last sentence to himself. He closed his eyes in grief and sorrow. He proceeded to left Yukari alone as he too left the back alley, wallowing in misery as a certain memory once again rose to the surface of his mind.

 *****Break Line*****

Junpei finally caught up to Minako just about to enter the club of all places. She had stopped crying at this point and told him she just wanted to stay at a place by herself without Yukari anywhere nearby. He respected her wishes and reminded her to just be back at the dorm by midnight. She gave her thanks and flashed him a grateful smile. As silly as he was, he always helped her get her mood up. Seeing her cheer up made him smile as well as he left to head back to the dorm. She looked around the club, called Club Escapade and spotted a relatively peaceful corner up on the second floor. The bartender raised an eyebrow when he saw her since she was in her school uniform. She told him she only wanted to relax on the second floor with the music with a cup of iced juice. He shrugged and accepted her excuse before giving her what she ordered. She supposed the 'fresh-from-crying' look on her face tugged some strings in his heart.

The second floor was empty and it was a therapeutic experience for her as she simply enjoyed the music and sipping her juice as she let the anger she felt towards Yukari bleed away. She did not want to hold a grudge too hard that it affected simple conversations with Yukari. She might be a little colder towards her but she did not want to outright hate her or get angry just by seeing her. That was just plain stupid. She could have went to the karaoke bar but renting a booth for just peace and quiet without even singing a song was just a waste of money. She would rather pay the over-inflated price of juice at the club instead. It was still cheaper.

Her therapy was interrupted when a elderly monk joined her on the second floor. He did not seem to have noticed her as she was tucked away in the corner. It was all fine at first until he started complaining out loud about booze he paid for but not served yet. Minako was quickly irritated by his drunken complaining and went downstairs to get his booze for him just so he could quiet down. The bartender told her she was not allowed to buy any alcoholic drinks until she mentioned that she was just picking up booze for the monk. Apparently, the bartender was bogged down by previous orders and could not prepare the booze the monk wanted. He suggested that she help him take the orders from the people who did not have drinks with them so he could concentrate on the drinks and not have his attention divided by going out and taking orders as well. She did just as requested and thanks to her help, he managed to catch up with his orders and gave her the booze the monk wanted.

"Here's your booze. Now will you please be quiet?" Minako could feel the twitch in her forced smile as she placed the bottle of booze in front of the monk. Even from downstairs she could hear him. He did quiet down thankfully and looked impressed with her for some reason. He pointed out how she was in school uniform and why the employees even let her in. As thanks for getting him his due drink, he would pretend to be her grandparent so she did not get kicked out in case the employees coming for a later shift saw her. He patted the seat next to him and told her to sit down so he would not have to strain himself to look up at her. For some reason, he started on to ramble on about how in a few more years, she would be able to go into adult establishments without any supervision and mentioned how acting like an adult made her look more like a kid. That was surprisingly good advice coming from a person about to get drunk and the monk knew it, laughing at himself.

Not wanting to be rude by staying completely silent, she asked if liquor tasted good. The monk gave a vague answer saying that some said it did but he only drank to get drunk. He misinterpreted her question as being optimistic about the future and that she should not get her hopes too high. That way, the disappointment would not hurt as much when things did not work out. It was a pessimistic statement but it did hold valuable insight. She guessed that he was finally drunk at this point, since he claimed he would remember her face and get her thrown out of the establishment the next time he saw her here. Regardless of the oddity, her gratefulness for his drunken advice formed the Social Link empowering the Tower Arcana.

 *****Break Line*****

The next day, the juniors followed Mitsuru around at her request as she drilled the homeroom teacher of Fuuka's class as to why she went missing and was not reported to the police. One of her bullies in the same class was there trying to confess her wrongdoings to the teacher and her claims that the victims, her fellow bullies, were hearing voices just before they were 'taken' and then left unconscious at the front of the school gate. Once the interrogation by Mitsuru was done, she declared an emergency operation of Tartarus that night. They were going to rescue Fuuka and if her deduction was right, she was still stuck in the school. SEES would gather at the student council room for a meeting to discuss further details.

When the meeting started, the first course of action was to sneak into the school an hour before midnight. Junpei was still confused as to why they needed to do that and asked if Fuuka was missing in the school somewhere. Yukari was just as confused since the school turned into Tartarus at midnight. That was the exact line of thought Mitsuru had, except she followed up by stating that Fuuka was actually trapped in Tartarus and not the school proper. Junpei claimed that it had been ten days since she went missing. Akihiko told him not to jump to conclusions and think rationally. Tartarus only appeared during the Dark Hour so if his theory was correct, only ten hours had passed for Fuuka and not the ten full days. There was a chance that she was still alive. Junpei was a little pessimistic since if they, as Persona-users, could barely last an hour, how could an ordinary people last ten? Yukari agreed with him, saying that even if she was still alive, there was no guarantee they could find her either.

Akihiko lost his cool and snapped at them asking if they were fine just leaving her to die. He quickly calmed down and proceeded to explain their operation for tonight. After sneaking in the school, they would wait in the gym until midnight struck and enter Tartarus the same way Fuuka did. It was the quickest and most accurate way they could find her. Yukari remained skeptical, not confident in his plan. Mitsuru felt the same way since if anything went wrong, they could all get lost inside Tartarus too. Akihiko claimed with conviction that he would not stand by and do nothing if there was even a chance at saving her. He would never forgive himself if he did something like that. If none of the other members wanted to attempt the rescue operation, then he would do so himself. Mitsuru at least agreed with the sentiment of saving Fuuka and Yukari was finally in agreement with the plan. Junpei was more excited about sneaking into the school at night and claimed he knew just what needed to be done.

 *****Break Line*****

They were initially going to ask for the Chairman's help for permission to enter the school during the night but he was strangely unavailable. Fortunately, Junpei had preemptively unlocked a back door to the school earlier so the operation was not jeopardized in any way. They split up into two groups and to meet up at the main hallway regardless of which group found the key. Once they gathered, it was time for step two of the operation. Two members would enter Tartarus via the gym with Akihiko while one of them would stay behind with Mitsuru while she provided outside support. Akihiko immediately wanted Minako to go with him to her apprehension but since he was the field leader, she swallowed her discomfort and nodded. She was certain that he wanted her to get over her fear of summoning her Persona as quickly as possible before it bit all of them in the butt in the future. Yukari wanted to go along but Junpei wanted in instead. He wanted to make up for his accidental mistake during their monorail operation. Yukari argued that his mistake was not accidental in any manner and it was not all about him. Minako was quick to interject and say that the mistake was hers for failing to live up to the duties of the field leader and not Junpei for having the right idea and getting angry at her hesitation.

Akihiko decided to take Junpei along much to the latter's glee. He was intuitive enough to tell that Yukari was uncomfortable being around Mitsuru and asked if that was the case. Yukari quickly denied having such discomforts and accepted her position with no further complaints. With all their roles given, it was simply time to wait for midnight to strike.

 *****Break Line*****

Minako did not realize she had fallen unconscious until she felt someone shaking her. She opened her eyes to see the boy in prison pajamas by her side in Tartarus and not in her bedroom. She asked if he had seen the boys, seeing as she was alone. He told her not to worry and she would see them soon. He told her about his premonition again, that tonight was the date for another ordeal and not just one this time. She should also hurry and find Fuuka as their group would need her. With his message delivered, he vanished.

It did not take long for her to find the boys who had met up with each other somewhere much to their relief. Junpei quickly brought up the issue of hearing voices. Just as he mentioned it, the voice sounded again, asking if they were human. The voice seemed to come from behind them and they all whirled around to see what it was. It was a girl with green hair.

"Are you Fuuka Yamagishi?" Akihiko asked. The girl looked immensely relieved as she nodded. Junpei was amazed she was still alive. He did not miss the chance to brag to her that she had no need to fear since he was here.

"Where are we...? I was at school, and then..." Fuuka was rightfully confused.

"Well... It's a long story. I'll explain after we get outta here," Junpei replied. "Oh yeah, are you hurt? Have you run into any monsters?"

"So, there _are_ strange creatures in here, then... I've managed to avoid them so far..."

"Are you serious? How's that possible?" Akihiko exclaimed, surprised that she had avoided all the Shadows for ten hours straight. She timidly explained that she somehow was able to just tell where they were. He immediately realized she had the same power as Mitsuru, perhaps even stronger since her Persona was more battle-oriented. He handed over an extra Evoker he had on him to Fuuka, telling her to hold on to it. She was startled by its design but he told her it was not really a gun and to think of it as a lucky charm.

As they made their way around Tartarus and find a teleporter to the entrance, they passed by a hallway with a complete view of the full moon outside. Junpei was amazed at how large and bright the moon looked with Akihiko mentioning that some research indicated Shadows were affected by the phases of the moon, similarly to humans. Their very first operation still weighed on Junpei's mind heavily since he clearly remembered the full moon that day. Akihiko quickly caught on that there might be a pattern and asked Minako if there was a full moon on the day their dorm was attacked. She nodded, not clearly remembering but it was probably true. He realized then that the big Shadows only attacked during the full moon and hastily attempted to contact Mitsuru. However, they were still too far apart for clear connection and it was cut off. Fuuka instead sensed that something big, bigger than the Shadows they had avoided thanks to her, was attacking someone. He gave orders to search every nook and cranny for a teleporter. They needed to get back to the entrance as quickly as possible.

When they found one and got back, Mitsuru and Yukari were already knocked down by not one, but two giant Shadows. Akihiko quickly attracted their attention so Junpei and Minako could move the injured girls to safety. Mitsuru had a warning for them, stating that her and Yukari's attacks did not work on the Shadows. Mitsuru could not work out their weaknesses in the midst of combat, only able to gleam that the Shadow with red markings was the Emperor and the other with blue markings was the Empress. Without vital information, the girls quickly lost. Junpei and Minako quickly took up their positions but before they could start the fight, the door opened and in walked the same girl that confessed to Fuuka's bullying earlier in the morning at school. She was supposed to stay in their dorm for safety as instructed by Mitsuru but she was still lured by the voices. She had retained just enough of her senses to mumble out an apology to Fuuka in tears before falling unconscious. Seeing the Empress winding up a swing aimed at the comatose bully, Fuuka stood protectively in front of her and instinctively knew what to do. She placed the Evoker to her temple and fired, the summoning of her Persona startling the Shadow and causing it to cease its attack.

"I can see... I... I can see these monsters' weaknesses, somehow..." Fuuka said from within the safety of her Persona, standing inside a protective dome that served as its bottom half. Akihiko confidently told Mitsuru to allow Fuuka to take her place as the team's support. With that replacement, the fight was finally underway between the two giant Shadows against Akihiko, Junpei and Minako. "Give me some time. I'll find out their weaknesses," Fuuka said, her voice echoing in their heads as she stood in a prayer-like stance, focused completely on her task as support.

"Got it!" Akihiko acknowledged, barking orders at Junpei to provide defensive support until Fuuka was done identifying their weaknesses. Junpei quickly obeyed, summoning Hermes to cast Rakukaja on the team while Akihiko summoned Polydeuces and casted Tarunda on both the Shadows. Minako felt helpless as she could only watch. Kiyohime had regretfully informed her that her sole supportive ability had the demerit of increasing an enemy's offensive capabilities in exchange for lowering their defenses. In other words, the complete opposite of what Akihiko planned. With their team's increased defenses and the enemy's lowered offense, their defenses stood strong until Fuuka was done with her analysis.

"The red one... It's weak to magic!" Fuuka declared with firm confidence.

"Alright! Time to pay them back!" Junpei grinned as he summoned Hermes who conjured an Agi. Before it could connect with its target, the Empress stepped in front of its partner and the magic fire got completely nullified. "What!" he exclaimed, surprised that the Shadows were capable of smart tactics.

"The blue one... It's weak to physical attacks!" Fuuka informed them. "You have to split them up to stop them from protecting each other!"

"Got it!" Akihiko decided to go on the offense. He summoned Polydeuces and like a mirror image, they both performed a heavy straight punch. As expected, the Emperor Shadow defended its partner by completely tanking the attack. "I've been waiting for this!" he grinned savagely when he saw it attempt a counterattack. "Junpei! Now! Blast it with your magic! Minako, aid Junpei!"

"Understood!" Minako acknowledged his command and since the Emperor was weak to only magic, she had no other alternative but to summon her Persona. **"Kiyohime!"** she called out the name of her Persona as she felt herself fall into the water when she allowed her body to be possessed. **"Let us go, Iori-san. We mustn't waste this opportunity,"** Kiyohime conjured her folding fan upon her summoning.

"You got it!" Junpei synced up his Agi spells with her fireballs, making the Emperor scream in ghostly pain as it was mercilessly pelted with fire. It flailed around blindly as it shrieked, trying to put out the flames spreading around its body since it was vulnerable to it. As a result, it left its partner completely open for Akihiko and his Persona to wail on the Empress with Sonic Jabs. Their All-Out Attack had to stop when the Shadows managed to regroup among their panic. Akihiko was in range of friendly fire and the Shadows now had the opportunity to cover each other again. The moment SEES backed off, they quickly performed some sort of skill where orbs of different colors started surrounding them.

"The enemy is changing!" Fuuka informed them with a small gasp. "They are changing their weaknesses!"

"Back to square one, huh?" Akihiko made an irritated sound as he had to go on the defensive again until Fuuka was done reanalyzing them. He attempted to use Zio in an attempt to stop them but the orbs surrounding the Shadows deflected the lightning magic away safely.

 **"I will get us that time. Please prepare for the attack,"** Kiyohime spoke up as blue flames started appearing around her. She molded the blue flames into the shape of a dragon before launching it towards the Shadows. _**"TENSHIN KASHOU ZANMAI!"**_ The blue flame dragon completely engulfed them, trapping them in a vortex of relentless blue flames. Pleased with her work, Kiyohime daintily opened her fan and covered her mouth with it, admiring the carnage before her.

"Uh... Kiyohime-san, we can't exactly prepare when you just end them like that..." Junpei sweat-dropped at how casual the Persona was acting.

"I suppose it is better we take them out as quickly as possible. It prevents any further danger of injury," Akihiko said and dropped his boxing stance.

"No, wait! One of them is still alive!" Fuuka cried out. Kiyohime narrowed her eyes at the declaration and dispelled her blue flames with a wave of her fan. True to her words, the Emperor was the only one remaining. "It's... Oh no! It's switched its weakness to light!"

"What? Light?" Akihiko exclaimed. "None of us have that type of magic! How about physical attacks?"

"No, it's no good!"

"Damn it!"

"What do we do now?" Junpei was beginning to feel panic set in as the Emperor roared out in defiance, starting to laugh at their distressed looks. Thanks to the Empress, it was able to learn every single SEES member's elemental affinity. It was now invincible. It then charged in with reckless abandon, swinging wildly at them. However, thanks to the earlier supportive skills, none of them took a lot of damage even as they blocked the heavy blows and got swept aside. Kiyohime had been forced to dispel her fan and use Minako's naginata as a flimsy defense.

 _"Is there nothing we can do...?"_ Minako fretted from inside the water of her soul. Kiyohime referred to it as the Sea of Souls.

 **"...Anchin-sama, I must confess now, since we are out of options,"** Kiyohime replied as soon as she was no longer the current target of the Emperor. **"You have a second Persona within you."**

"What!" For some reason, everyone in the room had heard her words despite the chaos around them and responded as such, except for the bully and the Shadow.

 **"I did not wish to call upon it, as its mere presence will overwhelm your current ability to wield Persona. Anchin-sama, I am not using most of my power for your own safety. Please remember. You were unable to stay conscious the first few times you summoned me. This Persona is strong enough that simply summoning it might harm you permanently."**

 _"I'll take that risk! Everyone is going to die if we don't!"_ Minako completely ignored the potential danger to her being.

 **"But Anchin-sama, your health will be...!"**

 _"Please, Kiyohime! Call it! We need its help! Never mind me!"_

 **"...If you truly insist. Please, stay safe, Anchin-sama..."** Kiyohime withdrew the Evoker from the holster and unlike the extreme hesitance that Minako had, smoothly placed it to her temple and fired with hardly a flinch. An enormous wave of blue mist shot out from Minako's body, making everyone, even the Shadow, step away from her. Only Fuuka stood her ground and that was because she was encased in her Persona.

 **"Thou art I, and I am thou."** Just the way Minako now spoke made the other SEES member straighten their backs. Whatever her new Persona was, it exuded a presence so powerful none of them could help but pay attention to it. **"At your command, Master Minako."** She glared at the enemy Shadow, identifying it as the enemy. When she did not move, her cool expression turned worried. **"...Master?"** Her worried expression then turned into one of urgency as she looked at each of the SEES members. **"You there!"** she singled out Fuuka. **"What objectives must I accomplish?"**

"T-The enemy's weakness is light! B-B-But none of us has attacks of that element!" Fuuka stammered out a response, clearly very intimidated by the Persona.

 **"Very well,"** the Persona accepted the information and returned her attention to the Emperor. **"Wind..."** she breathed out as wind magic attempted to gather at her hands before it dispelled violently. **"I can't even summon it to my side?"** she questioned herself. **"I'll have to use a weaker substitute then..."** This time, light particles gathered at her hands, successfully this time. An ornate golden sword appeared in a flash of light magic, raising everyone's hopes.

"I sense light magic in that sword!" Fuuka exclaimed with great relief and the Emperor stepped back in terror, realizing its one weakness was now able to be exploited.

 **"Sword of Selection, by your power! Cleave the wicked! _CALIBURN!"_** Minako pointed her sword towards the Shadow and a thin beam of concentrated light magic fired from the tip too fast for it to react to. Upon impact, the beam expanded into many small explosions that covered it from head to toe, instantly vaporizing it.

"The enemy has been defeated! We... We've won!" Fuuka delivered the good news. At everyone's cheer, Minako's Persona dismissed her weapon and stood at attention a short distance away with her eyes closed while Junpei and Akihiko helped up the injured Yukari and Mitsuru. Fuuka fell unconscious immediately upon the dismissal of her Persona.

"Where did these two Shadows come from?" Akihiko asked.

"From somewhere outside Tartarus, just like before..." Mitsuru replied.

"I see..."

Yukari was quick to change the subject towards the bully, asking if anything needed to be done. Akihiko said they did not need to do anything to her, since she would not remember anything that happened during the Dark Hour, even though she was forced in it by the call of the Shadows. She lamented over the belief that the bully would forget that Fuuka saved her life but Mitsuru said it would not matter. Since the bully was already repentant even before entering the Dark Hour, she had already learned her lesson. While everyone was in high spirits after the successful rescue, their relaxed pace of packing their equipment was taking a toll on Minako's Persona's patience.

 **"I implore you to please hurry with your packing. The enemy may have been defeated but none of us are in a safe environment. Minako's life is falling further into danger the longer you take and the longer I stay manifested,"** the Persona informed them.

"What! Then dismiss yourself!" Akihiko demanded, to which Minako only shook her head.

 **"Minako is currently unconscious. I am remaining active because all of you are completely occupied with two unconscious girls. Another one will severely hamper your progress. Now, please hurry."** Minako opened her eyes briefly to stare coldly at Akihiko who froze up for a second before leaving her alone to pass the message to pick up the pace. He did not know why he felt compelled to listen to the Persona's words. Was it a mental effect, like being Charmed? However, because he had not lost any of his reasoning, he shrugged it off. It was not until everyone minus Mitsuru boarded the van and Akihiko started driving back to the dorm that the Persona let out a breath of relief. **"I'll leave Minako in your care now..."** The blue mist signalling the Persona's departure appeared and Minako immediately fell forward if not for Junpei who caught her.

"Oh shit! She's burning up all of a sudden!" Junpei cried out, hastily putting Minako back into a comfortable sitting position. "Damn, that's some intense fever!" he exclaimed after briefly putting his hand on her profusely perspiring forehead.

"We're dropping Minako off at the hospital! One of you stay with her there and specially request for the Kirijo's personal doctor!" Akihiko commanded as he swiftly changed directions. Yukari looked pointedly at Junpei who nodded in acceptance. He understood it was in case Minako regained consciousness. He would be a more welcomed face than Yukari, considering what happened only a few days ago. As they waited with baited breath until they reached the hospital, the warning from Minako's newest Persona resounded very clearly in their minds. Minako's life was in critical danger _again,_ and it severely impacted the morale of SEES. For whatever reason, the juniors noticed that Akihiko was the most distressed about Minako's safety than any of them since his driving had gotten noticeably more reckless in his haste to get to the hospital.

 *****End Of Chapter*****

 **I... have no excuses. I honestly do not know why it took me this long to get even a chapter of any story I've published out. And no, it's not writer's block. But enough about my rather pathetic state of self.**

 **The second boss fight needed next to no change, really. Their gimmick was great to begin with if you fought them completely blind and it solidified Fuuka's role as the new navigator for SEES. As with the previous boss fight, I adjusted it just enough so I had a valid reason to introduce Minako's new Persona. Because let's face it, if they truly had the ability to switch weaknesses to Light and Dark magic, literally only the MC would be capable of defeating them and even then you had to go out of your way to get the Instadeath skills via Fusion and maybe excessive grinding. To make things worse, you _still_ have to leave it up to RNG whether it works or not.**

 **As for who her new Persona is, it's aligned with the Emperor Arcana as previously mentioned in Chapter 2. In fact, it's her only other Persona besides Kiyohime. From now onward, Minako will be aware she can gain new Personas, thanks to Kiyohime's previously withheld information. It's identity is... Do I really need to say who it is?**

 **One more thing. I've decided to stop asking for suggestions for Arcanas that have no Servant assigned to them yet. It was a mistake on my part when I can't even update my stories on any sort of regular time frame. I am truly ashamed of myself.**

 **Here's the update.**

 **Fool: Kiyohime**

 **Magician: ?**

 **Priestess: ?**

 **Empress: ?**

 **Emperor: Arturia Pendragon**

 **Hierophant: ?**

 **Lovers: ?**

 **Chariot: ?**

 **Justice: ?**

 **Hermit: ?**

 **Fortune: ?**

 **Strength: ?**

 **Hanged Man: ?**

 **Death: ?**

 **Temperance: ?**

 **Devil: ?**

 **Tower: ?**

 **Star: ?**

 **Moon: ?**

 **Sun: ?**

 **Judgement: ?**

 **I look forward to getting more readers who like this story! Do Follow/Favorite/Review this story, and big thanks to those who are kind enough to do so!**


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